Article: Oil prices high, going higher; A nine-year peak in the price of crude shoots higher costs through the.(USA)

Perhaps you've noticed higher prices at the gas pump recently. Get used to it.

Oil prices have soared from $11 a barrel in December 1998 to $27 a barrel this month - the highest price in nine years. And with a diplomatic dispute brewing in - where else? - Iraq, economists predict that oil prices could rise as high as $30 a barrel by the end of the year.

What this means to American consumers is likely to be higher prices for everything from heating oil to the traditional Christmas ham. And some economists say that a moderate amount of inflation could creep into what is currently a strong, healthy economy.

"This is going to take a chunk out of ...

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