Middle East war could bring even higher gas prices to WA

The ramifications of those actions is likely to be felt as far away as the Pacific Northwest, despite the fact that the region gets most of its gasoline from U.S. and Canadian sources.

“If the pot of oil available on the world market shrinks and demand stays the same, the price will go up,” said Darrin Magee, director of the Institute for Energy Studies at Western Washington University.

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There are plenty of factors that contribute to high gas prices in Washington, said James McCafferty, a director of Western Washington University’s Center for Economic and Business Research. That includes state fuel taxes, high labor costs and geographic isolation.

“It increases the cost of production because of all of these externalities,” McCafferty said.

The longer the war extends, the higher the risk of inflation due to disruptions in the oil markets. That could go on to impact the cost of food and other consumers goods.

“The reality is: If you’re on a farm, you use diesel,” McCafferty said. “You’re going to use petroleum products in the production of almost anything manufacturing-wise.”