Seven Months Into the Iran War, Higher Fuel Costs Add Up for American Households
Gas is up 45% and diesel 68% since the war began, AP reports, and one economist puts the cost to the average household at almost $2,000.
By Watchman Report staff ·
More than seven months into the U.S. war with Iran, sharply higher fuel prices are making it more expensive to drive, fly and buy some goods, The Associated Press reported Saturday. On Friday the national average for regular gasoline was $4.33 a gallon, 45% above its prewar level of $2.98, and diesel was $6.33, up 68%, according to AAA. AAA said this is the first October that regular gas has averaged more than $4 a gallon.
Airfares were about 22% higher in September than a year earlier, according to the consumer price index. Grocery prices have risen more modestly; the U.S. Department of Agriculture now expects a 2.4% increase this year, up from 1.7%. Footwear prices were up 3.4%. Producer data showed truck and water freight services up 19.3%, and the Postal Service raised several base shipping prices 8% in April. Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi estimated the war has cost the average household almost $2,000, including $1,100 in higher energy prices, and said the energy portion is growing by $50 a week.
Many companies have absorbed part of their higher costs, AP reported, but a September jump in wholesale prices suggests some may raise prices if fuel stays high. The Energy Information Administration expects winter heating costs to be 21% higher for households that use heating oil, most of them in the Northeast. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains dangerous and limited.
Everything above this line is reported fact, attributed to the sources listed. The Scripture Connection is our interpretation, offered by Christians who read the whole Bible, Old and New Testament, with an Israelite-rooted understanding.
