Oil Prices See 2% Rise Before Federal Reserve Decision, Middle East Situation Impact

Oil prices increased by about 2% as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates. The situation in the Middle East is a key factor.

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Oil prices went up by nearly 2% on Wednesday. People were waiting for the Federal Reserve to announce its decision about interest rates. The Middle East situation is making oil prices change a lot.

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Experts think that the Federal Reserve will keep the interest rates the same. They have been changing the rates for a while now.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were about $83 per barrel, and Brent crude futures were about $87 per barrel on Wednesday morning.

The Middle East situation is not stable, which makes oil prices go up and down a lot. This has been happening since Hamas attacked Israel last month.

The World Bank said on Tuesday that if there is a big problem in the Middle East, oil prices could go up to $157 per barrel.

Gas prices are going down because people use less gas in the winter. On Wednesday, the average price for a gallon of gas in the US was $3.46, which is 35 cents less than last month.

Tom Kloza, who knows a lot about energy, said gas prices will drop a bit. He thinks it will go down by 25 to 50 cents per gallon.

In California, gas is still expensive compared to other states. The average price for gas in California is $5.23 per gallon, which is down from $6.06 last month.

Also Read: Escalation in Gaza: Impact on Oil and Gas Markets