America’s economy is holding up well despite surging oil prices - for now - but alarm bells are ringing on Wall Street. The Wall Street Journal polled economists to see how high oil prices would have to rise - and how long they'd have to stay elevated - to push the US economy towards recession. They said that oil would have to stay around $138 a barrel for about three months to push the US economy towards a recession. So far, the Iran war has lasted almost three weeks and US oil prices have been hovering around $95 - compared to an average price of $65 in February. Join the debate How should the US handle soaring oil prices if conflict in the Middle East threatens our economy?

Source: Daily Mail March 21, 2026 06:42 UTC