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Gas Prices Are Spiking Again — Here's How to Protect Your Wallet as the Iran Conflict Escalates

  Published July 20, 2026 If it feels like you're filling up more often for the same money lately, you're not imagining it. Oil markets jolted higher to start the week, and Canadian drivers are almost certain to see it at the pump in the next few days. What just happened Brent crude — the global benchmark that drives Canadian gas pricing — jumped nearly 4% on Monday to trade above US$90 a barrel, its highest level since mid-June, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate traded near US$84. The move came after the United States and Iran escalated hostilities over the weekend, including strikes on vessels attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz and an attack on an oil facility in Kuwait. That strait matters enormously to your gas bill: roughly a fifth of the world's oil supply normally passes through it. When shipping through it slows or stalls, traders price in a "risk premium" almost immediately — and that shows up at Canadian pumps within days, not weeks. What it mea...
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Federal Reserve to Hold Interest Rates Steady Despite Market Anticipation

 

The Federal Reserve is expected to hold on interest rate cuts as they assess the economy and inflation . The policymakers are likely to signal that they expect to wait until they’re confident that inflation, which has tumbled from its peak, is reliably moving to their 2% target. 

The central bank’s benchmark rate influences the cost of most consumer and business loans, and companies, investors, and individuals have been eager for the central bank to ease the cost of borrowing. However, the economy remains healthy and doesn’t appear to need the stimulative benefits of a rate cut, which can spur more borrowing and spending and could even re-ignite inflation. The stock market is near a record high, and the yield on the influential 10-year Treasury note is well below its peak of nearly 5% last fall.

The Federal Reserve will likely move closer Wednesday to cutting its key interest rate after nearly two years of hikes that were intended to fight the worst inflation in decades. Yet it may not provide much of a hint about when — or how fast — it will do so. Most Fed watchers think the central bank’s first rate reduction will occur in May or June.














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