Kpler’s Matt Smith expects oil prices to keep grinding higher, with six and a half months of Middle East supply losses now working their way through gasoline and diesel prices. Smith told CNBC Thursday that oil prices have risen roughly $30 per barrel since early August. Gasoline would normally be falling at this point in the year as summer driving demand fades. It isn’t. Kpler estimates roughly 8.5 million barrels per day of oil production has been lost over the course of the conflict. Refinery runs have also been cut sharply, reducing…