Could gas prices spike ahead of holiday road trips? What to know

globalnews.ca:

oil prices rise given the current geopolitical uncertainty exacerbated by recent attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea.“It’s very traditional that oil prices and gasoline prices bottom around the middle of December,” said Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis with the Oil Price Information Service.“Then after that … the market will grab pieces of news to justify price advances.”Houthi strikes on commercial vessels in the Red Sea are part of the Yemen-based group’s attacks on Israel and countries trading with it. Israel is fighting Hamas in Gaza following that group’s deadly Oct.

7 surprise attack in Israel.The Houthis’ actions have echoed the role of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, which has been attacking Israeli positions at the Lebanese frontier, and Iraqi militias which have been firing at U.S. interests in Iraq and Syria.Stepping up their threats, the Houthis said on Dec.

9 they would target all ships heading to Israel, regardless of nationality, and warned all international shipping companies against dealing with Israeli ports.An estimated 10 to 12 per cent of the world’s trade travels through the Red Sea, a narrow waterway that separates Yemen from East Africa and leads north to the Suez Canal. It is the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia.Houthis’ attacks have forced the world’s biggest container shipping companies to either pause or reroute movements through the Red Sea.Hapag Lloyd, MSC and Maersk, oil major BP and oil tanker group Frontline have said they sending their ships to southern Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, which some analysts have said could add a week to 10 days or even longer to voyages.Depending on what companies decide to do, they will have to add more ships to make