Oil prices spiked Thursday to levels not seen in nine months as escalating violence in Iraq sparked worries about crude exports.
Light crude oil futures touched $106 a barrel, up nearly 2% and the highest price since September 2013.
The price of oil is one of many factors that determine gas prices. Gas futures rose by 1.7% to $2.95 a gallon, signaling a possible rise in prices for consumers.
Oil prices have been climbing all year on strengthening global demand, reduced output from OPEC nations and other producers, and fear that the Ukraine crisis could disrupt Russian energy exports.
An al Qaeda splinter group occupied Iraq’s second biggest city — Mosul — and threatened to head south towards Baghdad. The group is trying to establish an Islamic state straddling the Iraq-Syria border.
Iraq produces about 3.3 million barrels of oil a day, making it the second biggest producer in OPEC after Saudi Arabia. It is also sitting on the world’s fourth largest proven reserves.
