The U.S. economy still has room to expand so long as gas doesn't go much above $4 a gallon, according to Jeremy Siegel. "I don't think it's going to get much above $4.10, unless there's some extreme measure going on," 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 the economy can expand under that oil situation." Investors have worried that higher prices at the pump will quickly raise costs for families, putting upward pressure on inflation while a weakening labor market that could result in sluggish economic growth. U.S. gasoline prices that have surged above $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022, spiking more than 30% since the U.S. and Israel first attacked Iran in late February. Prices at the pump hit a nationwide average of $4.018, according to AAA. However, Siegel thinks those prices are nevertheless not very high on a historical basis when adjusted for inflation. He also noted there have been some encouraging signs the U.S.-Iran war may soon be over, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's saying he thinks Iran is no longer an existential threat , according to Haaretz, an Israeli news organization. "There is some feeling that this will wrap up," Siegel said. "It is important to wrap up."
