The price of a barrel of oil surged to over $100 amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On Thursday morning, the price of Brent crude hit $105.40, an increase of 8.5%. The last time oil prices topped $100 a barrel was in 2014.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures briefly topped $100 a barrel on Thursday (February 24) before falling back to $99.15. Natural gas prices also climbed by 6.5%.
The cost of oil and natural gas is expected to climb even higher over concerns about supply chain disruptions and possible sanctions on Russia, which is one of the top oil-producing countries in the world and the second-leading supplier of natural gas.
According to CNN, analysts at Capital Economics warned that oil could top $140 per barrel if energy flows from Russia are disrupted.
The higher cost of oil is driving gas prices up, and with experts predicting it could top $7 a gallon in parts of the United States.
"My guess is that you are going to see $5 a gallon at any triple-digit [oil prices] ... as soon as you get to $100. And you might get to $6.50 or $7. Forget about $150 a gallon, I don't know where we will be by then," Energy Word founder Dan Dicker said on Yahoo Finance Live last week.