Up and down the East Coast, people are flocking to gas stations in fear of an ongoing shortage. The national average price for a gallon of gas broke $3 on Wednesday.

GasBuddy, a website dedicated to finding real-time fuel prices, found that demand for gasoline rose 32.5% on Monday due to the Colonial Pipeline shutdown.

PADDs (Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts) are used to control the allocation of gasoline or diesel. PADD 1 is the East Coast, while other PADDs reference other regions across the U.S.

The Colonial Pipeline supplies a good portion of oil and gas to the East Coast. It was shut down last Friday after hackers gained access to the pipeline.

According to The Wall Street Journal, gasoline futures prices have already jumped more than 50% this year.

As a smart investor, you may be pondering whether now is a time to exit some of your oil and gas positions.

In this 100th episode of The Bull & The Bear, I tell you whether that is a good idea or not.

Oil and Gas Stocks Still Holding Their Own Despite Colonial Pipeline

There is much more at play related to oil and gas stocks than just the pipeline shutdown.

U.S. warships engaged Iranian gunboats in the Strait of Hormuz, and the Israeli Defense Force has attacked Hamas positions in Gaza.

It all spells tension in the Middle East — which has a direct impact on oil and gas prices.

Despite that, oil and gas stocks in the U.S. have held relatively steady.

Oil & Gas Exploration Index Still at a High

oil and gas index pipeline

The S&P 500 Oil & Gas Exploration Index has fallen slightly but remains higher than its previous high set last month.

On top of that, oil and gas companies are still riding highs from strong quarterly earnings reports.

ConocoPhilips (NYSE: COP) and Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO) both issued earnings and revenue beats along with strong future projections.

In today’s podcast, I take all of those factors and tell you where the oil and gas market is going. I also give you chief investment strategist Adam O’Dell’s take.

The Bull & The Bear

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Safe trading,

Clark_Sig

Matt Clark
Research Analyst, Money & Markets

Matt Clark is the research analyst for Money & Markets. He’s the host of our podcast, The Bull & The Bear, as well as the Marijuana Market Update. Before joining the team, he spent 25 years as an investigative journalist and editor — covering everything from politics to business.