Jeremy Siegel says the U.S. economy still has room to expand unless gas prices rise significantly above $4 a gallon. “I don’t think it’s going to go much higher than $4.10 unless something extreme is done,” the professor emeritus of finance at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Wednesday. “And in that oil situation, the economy could expand.” Investors worry that rising prices could cause household spending to rise quickly, putting upward pressure on inflation, while a weakening labor market could lead to slower economic growth. U.S. gasoline prices have topped $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022, surging more than 30% since the U.S. and Israel first attacked Iran in late February. Pump prices reached a national average of $4.018, according to AAA. But Siegel believes these prices are not that high on a historical basis when adjusted for inflation. He also said there are some encouraging signs that the war between the United States and Iran could soon end, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying he no longer considers Iran an existential threat, according to Israeli news outlet Haaretz. “I have a feeling this is going to be the end of the line,” Siegel said. “It’s important to wrap things up at the end.”
