With the year now half over, it is time to look back at what we have been through these past six months. The year started off with the economy the top concern of the voters and it remains so today, due mostly to the crisis in the oil market .

Over the past 6 months, the price of oil rising a staggering 46%. With the state of the stock market, investors are looking to commodities as a safer investment source, and oil is right up on top of the list. With investors continuing to buy oil futures and production of gasoline from the crude oil going at a slow pace, the price of oil is expected to rise to $170.00 a barrel by the end of the year. Right now, the price is at $142.00 a barrel, the highest it has ever been.

The weakening dollar has made everything imported cost more and it shows no sign of turning around any time soon and the European Central Bank is expected to raise interest rates, which will make the dollar slump even more. The only good that comes out of this is the fact that US vacations are very economical for foreign tourists as is all of the shopping they do while here.

In addition, Iran put its two cents worth into the oil crisis by stating that they will shut down the oil route through the Gulf if they are attacked. Of course, they can do it anytime they want and say they were attacked and that would result in the US Navy being sent to open the route up and we all know where that will lead. And it is not the US that they are worried about an attack coming from, it is Israel. And at the center of it all is Iran’s nuclear program, which it is feared is geared to producing bombs, not as an energy source as Iran has insisted. Israel already has nuclear weapons and this could cause the biggest conflict since the Cuban missile crisis of the early 1960’s If any one was foolish enough to actually use these weapons, they could wipe out a huge portion of the middle east, themselves included in all probability. And yes oil production, which is what we are actually talking about, would grind to a halt.

The next President and the new Congress is going to have to hit this one from day one. Both candidates think of this as such a serious problem, they are planing trips to the Middle East and meetings with heads of state, including Iran, in the middle of a campaign when normally candidates are focused on visiting the states and building support.