The price of oil surged 2% today on after French port workers announced they would strike.

Oil prices today hit an intraday high of $118.99 a barrel, the highest level since April 28, when the price of oil per barrel reached an intraday record of $119.93.

“A lot of smart people are beginning to believe this bull market in oil will die hard,” says Alexander Green over at InvestmentU.com.

“According to Michael Lynch, President of Strategic Energy & Economic Research, oil has now become ‘the mother of all bubbles.’ He has a few pertinent facts on his side.

“The U.S. is the world’s largest oil consumer. Yet our economy is in a slump. Despite the sharp rise in oil prices this year, oil demand in the U.S. is actually down 2% so far.”

“Higher crude oil prices are reducing demand in so-called first-tier countries,” says Money Morning’s Keith Fitz-Gerald. “But when it comes to the rest of the planet, all bets are off.”

“Here in China, they’re using fuel at an accelerating rate. Part of that is the increasing reliance on fuel oil, but an even bigger catalyst is simply because companies like Chery Automobile, Geely Automobile (0175: Hong Kong), and Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. Ltd., are producing inexpensive, gas-powered cars for the masses.

“The same is true in India where Tata Motors (TTM: NYSE) $2,500 car is opening up driving and vehicle ownership to millions of consumers who otherwise would never have also become motorists.

Read on to learn how to profit from China and India’s gas guzzling.