$100 Crude Oil Prices Amid Strategic Petroleum Reserve Low

Crude oil prices have broken through $100 a barrel as tensions with Iran escalate and America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve hits its lowest level since 1983.

The reserve, created in 1975 to safeguard against economic disruption, had over 400 million barrels of oil on hand before the conflict began. However, it has dropped significantly since then.

Richard Gearhart, a professor of economics at Cal State Bakersfield, explained that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was designed as a buffer to protect America during wars or oil shocks.

Gearhart pointed out that the reserve's origins are tied directly to the relationship between oil and the broader U.S. economy, stating that 'every modern recession in the United States has been preceded by some shock in the oil industry, usually external.'

Gas prices in Wichita have risen 73 cents compared to the same time a year ago, nearly six months into the war with Iran.