Oil prices rise, threatening to push cost of gas higher two weeks before midterms
Oil prices surged in early trading Tuesday, as energy markets adjusted to a new normal in the Middle East. The increase in crude prices threatened to drive up the cost of gas in the United States just two weeks before the midterm elections.
U.S. crude prices jumped as much as 5% to about $109 a barrel, the highest price since April, while the price of international Brent crude climbed 1.5% to more than $111, its highest price since May. Prices pulled back later in the morning, after weaker-than-expected U.S. housing starts raised the prospect of a broader slowdown and lower demand.
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