By Steven Symes 
Shock has spread across the media after oil prices have fallen with the situation in Iran. After all, as we covered back on June 13, media outlets were telling people to panic and fill up their gas tanks because prices were obviously going to soar. Only that didn’t happen.
The state of Georgia is suing people who opposed construction of the Rivian plant there.
Instead, oil prices are now falling. On June 22, a CNBC report stated that after the Iran strike on the US military base in Qatar, oil prices actually fell seven percent. That left the market price for a barrel of US crude oil sitting at $68.51. Prices fluctuate often, but they seem to be holding around that same mark so far today.
More importantly to drivers, the cost of gasoline hasn’t spiraled out of control. According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of gas sits at $3.22, up slightly from $3.16 a week ago. That’s not too bad considering how many were predicting crushing prices at the pump.
As CNBC reports, oil prices demonstrate that investors don’t believe the situation in the Middle East will spiral out of control. They see what President Trump has done as an aggressive move to achieve peace, which to some might seem like a paradox.
The fear has been that Iran would shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a major trade route for oil, among other commodities. In fact, about 20 percent of the world’s oil travels through the strait. But that hasn’t happened, even as tensions have escalated.
The hope is the new ceasefire will help cool things off between Iran and Israel, although everyone knows there will be tension which could erupt into violence at any time.
If anything, this situation once again highlights the importance of the US being as energy independent as possible, whether we’re driving ICE of EVs.
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