$100 Oil Is Here and It's About to Hit Your Wallet in 5 Ways You Aren't Expecting

By Rich Smith – Mar 20, 2026 at 7:07AM ESTKey PointsBrent crude prices topped $100 this week, and WTI almost did.Oil prices drive gasoline prices -- and much, much more.Oil stock prices already seem to foresee an end to the war.Oil prices are rising (in case you haven't noticed). Brent crude prices that closed below $73 on Feb. 27 briefly touched $118 a barrel on Thursday, and is now at $108 early Friday. WTI crude -- oil extracted far from the Persian Gulf, but that's still tied to global market prices -- came close to hitting $100 a barrel, settling around $94 Friday morning. The implications for gasoline prices are obvious. Before the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, gasoline prices in the U.S. averaged $2.95 per gallon, according to data from GasBuddy.com. By Tuesday, that had risen to $3.84 per gallon, a 30% increase. Assuming you own a car, you've probably noticed this increase already. But here are five more ways you can expect the rising cost of oil to affect your daily life. Image source: Getty Images. 1. Grocery prices Groceries were already getting more expensive before war broke out in Iran. According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, after falling 1.4% in January, food prices shot up 2.4% in February. Expect food prices to rise further this month and next (and as long as oil prices stay high). Why? Because food arrives at the grocery store in trucks. And trucks burn gas and diesel to get it there. 2. Airline tickets Think it costs a lot to fill up your car lately? Be glad you don't drive a Boeing 737. According to ABC News, jet fuel costs are up nearly twice as much as ordinary gasoline, surging 57% to $3.93 per gallon since the war began. ABC's prediction: "It's not a question of if airfares will rise because of higher fuel costs, but when, for how long, and by how much." 3. Heating and electricity bills With winter on the wane, higher oil and gas prices are at least arriving at the right time to minimize their effect on the U.S. economy and on household budgets. That's the good news. The bad news is that the cost of heating a home was already looking steep. Winter started with a December 8% colder than usual in the U.S., says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. By February, fuel oil inflation hit 11.1%, says BLS. But you use electricity to heat your home, you say? The good news here is that BLS data show a small dip in electric rates in February. The bad news is that the war is causing a spike in natural gas prices, and demand for electricity at large artificial intelligence (AI) data centers continues to climb. Expect inflation here, as well. 4. Construction and housing costs Construction, housing, inflation, and mortgage rates are all intertwined, but we'll start with the first two. As with groceries, pretty much everything you need to build a house arrives by truck -- and as you'll recall from up above, trucks burn gas and diesel. That's going to push housing costs higher for as long as the war impedes oil supply. 5. The ripple effect on inflation and mortgage rates The good news here is that mortgage rates can have a greater effect on what people actually pay for a home than construction costs. This is because most people don't pay cash for their houses, but take out mortgages to buy them. And 30-year mortgage rates hit their lowest level since August 2022 last month -- 6.05%. The bad news is that war-fueled inflation drives up the cost of everything. Given enough time, we'll probably see mortgage rates rise as well. The best news of all I want to end this article on a bright note, though, and that note is this: Have you noticed how oil and gas stocks have reacted to the war and to the rising price of oil? Since the start of the month, shares of ExxonMobil (XOM +0.40%) stock are up 4.1%, Chevron (CVX +1.39%) 6%, and Occidental Petroleum (OXY +2.12%) 8.8%. ExpandNYSE: XOMExxonMobilToday's Change(0.40%) $0.63Current Price$158.22Key Data PointsMarket Cap$659BDay's Range$154.85 - $159.5652wk Range$97.80 - $160.45Volume1.4KAvg Vol20MGross Margin21.56%Dividend Yield2.55% These are significant rises to be sure, but they're nowhere near the price spikes in gasoline (30%), Brent crude oil (41%), or jet fuel (57%). What does that tell you? It tells me that some of the savviest investors on the planet, who watch these oil stocks like hawks -- according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, more than two dozen analysts make it their day job to know what's up with all three stocks -- don't expect the war to last forever, or for high oil prices to last very long. They're already making plans for when oil prices come back down. When double-digit oil price growth sparks only single-digit oil stock price growth, this is the only logical conclusion.Read NextMar 19, 2026 •By Reuben Gregg Brewer2 Important Reminders for Investors as Crude Oil's Price Remains VolatileMar 19, 2026 •By Matt DiLalloBrent Crude Oil Briefly Topped $119 as Iran Ramps Up Attacks on Gas and Oil Facilities in the Persian Gulf. Here Are 2 Things for Investors to Know.Mar 19, 2026 •By Thomas Niel3 of the Best Energy Stocks to Buy Right NowMar 18, 2026 •By John BromelsAre Oil Prices at Historic Highs? Yes and No. Here's Why.Mar 17, 2026 •By Matt DiLalloThe Stock Prices of These 3 Oil Giants Are Up Roughly 30% in 2026.

But Are They a Buy?Mar 16, 2026 •By Matt DiLalloOil Prices Drop Below $100. Here are the 2 Developments in Iran Affecting Major Oil Stocks.About the AuthorRich Smith is a contributing Motley Fool defense and stock market analyst covering publicly traded and emerging companies in defense, space, aerospace, and other sectors. Prior to The Motley Fool, Rich practiced international corporate law for Clifford Chance in Russia, and for the Russian-Ukrainian Legal Group in Moscow, Kyiv, and Washington, D.C. He holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the College of William & Mary, a law degree from the University of Baltimore, and a language certification from the International Institute of Russian Language & Culture in Tver, Russian Federation. The Globe and Mail once featured him as “one of the best stock pickers since 2009.”TMFDittyX@RichSmithFoolStocks MentionedExxonMobilNYSE: XOM$158.22(+0.40%)+$0.63ChevronNYSE: CVX$201.37(+1.39%)+$2.76Occidental PetroleumNYSE: OXY$59.62(+2.12%)+$1.24*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.