Oil tops $92 per barrel for first time since late May

Rising tensions in the Middle East have pushed oil prices sharply higher over the past three weeks, forcing drivers to pay more at the pump. Crude rose $2.66, about 3%, to $92.53 per barrel today, crossing above $92 for the first time since late May. The price has risen about $15 per barrel since oil hit its low for the year three weeks ago. The national average price of gasoline is now $3.44 per gallon, up 11 cents since July 1. In Baton Rouge, the average today was $3.21, according to BatonRougeGasPrices.com. The oil market, responding to a series of events in recent days, is concerned once again that Iran will try to block oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway in the Persian Gulf through which one-fifth of the world’s oil travels every day. “It’s raised the fear quotient,” says Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service. If oil buyers worry that oil will soon be in short supply, they buy oil futures contracts to lock in the price as insurance against future price spikes. Those purchases drive up benchmark oil prices and can eventually lead to higher prices at the pump.