NJ gas prices dropping. Middle East tension could change that

Gas prices are moving away from their summer peak, analysts say, but the relief for motorists may be short-lived amid an uncertain hurricane season and flaring tensions in the Middle East. 

On Tuesday, New Jersey drivers were paying $3.30 for a gallon of gas, said travel club AAA. They were paying $3.33 a week ago and $3.49 a month ago, AAA data showed. 

Tom Kloza, an energy price analyst at the Maryland-based Oil Price Information Service, told MarketPlace that gas prices have been low this summer because demand has been low. 

Gas demand has continued to fall in recent weeks, said the federal Energy Information Administration, while refining activity and fuel inventory have risen. 

Story continues below photo gallery.

Patrick De Haan, head petroleum analyst at GasBuddy, and Andrew Gross, a spokesperson for AAA, essentially said the same thing: Rising geopolitical tension in the Middle East could fuel surges in oil prices in the region, leading to higher costs at the pump. 

U.S. officials have detected signs that Iran is preparing an attack on Israel in response to the assassination in Tehran last week of a senior Hamas leader, and Israel continues its military operations in the Gaza Strip. 

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Monday that actions by Iran “could be this week.” 

“We have to be prepared for what could be a significant set of attacks,” Kirby said, according to a White House pool report. 

But barring that potential conflict escalation in the Middle East, ”gasoline prices have seen their summer peak,” Andy Lipow, of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston, told Yahoo Finance.