{"id":12011,"date":"2026-03-20T16:06:41","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T22:06:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/how-war-and-oil-prices-are-affecting-consumers\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T19:23:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T19:23:24","slug":"how-war-and-oil-prices-are-affecting-consumers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/how-war-and-oil-prices-are-affecting-consumers\/","title":{"rendered":"How war and oil prices are affecting consumers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Gas
Gas prices are seen on a Shell station marqee March 9 in Arlington, Texas. (Julio Cortez\/The Associated Press)<\/span>Julio Cortez<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

NEW YORK \u2013 As the war in Iran ratchets up, the price of crude oil has been swinging sharply. Consumers are already feeling the effects of the war and its destabilizing impact on global energy production.<\/p>\n

Gasoline prices are climbing, and many people are feeling some of the most immediate economic pain at the pump.<\/p>\n

But drivers are not the only ones affected. Food and nearly everything else that is bought and sold must travel from where it is produced. Those costs climb with higher gasoline, diesel and jet fuel prices.<\/p>\n

Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, is now trading above $110 a barrel. That is likely to be a major factor in inflation. As the war continues, some experts say rising energy costs could affect prices across the economy, cutting into consumer spending.<\/p>\n

Here is how higher oil and gas prices could affect consumers as the war continues.<\/p>\n

\"Nate
Nate Collins fills his landscaping truck March 9 in Arlington, Texas. (Julio Cortez\/The Associated Press)<\/span>Julio Cortez<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
At the pump: Gas prices are likely to keep climbing<\/div>\n

Gasoline, diesel and jet fuel are refined from crude oil. As crude prices rise, so do the prices of those widely used fuels, which power cars, buses, delivery trucks, farm equipment and airplanes.<\/p>\n

Across the U.S., gas prices are near their highest levels since 2022. Drivers were paying an average of $3.88 for a gallon of regular gasoline Thursday, compared with $2.98 before the war began. Prices have risen about 30% since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.<\/p>\n

Prices vary widely by state. In California, drivers were paying nearly $5.62 a gallon. Some of the state\u2019s refineries have shut down in recent years, leaving California more reliant on imported gasoline and other refined products from Asia.<\/p>\n

By contrast, the average price in Louisiana, which has significant oil production and refining capacity, was $3.52. Oklahoma had the lowest statewide average Thursday at $3.24 a gallon.<\/p>\n

The spike in oil prices is likely to push gasoline prices even higher and could be felt more acutely in Asia and Europe, which rely more heavily on Middle Eastern oil and gas than the United States.<\/p>\n

When gas prices reach $4 a gallon, that is typically the tipping point for consumers, said Patrick Penfield, a professor of supply chain practice at Syracuse University. He expects prices to reach that level in the next week or two.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s usually when people start to pull back,\u201d Penfield said. \u201cThey may not drive as much, or they may not go out. they have decisions to make so either you can spend it on going out or you spend it buying gas for your car.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shipping and goods become more expensive<\/div>\n

Diesel prices have also been climbing. Diesel fuel, which powers most long-haul trucks, averaged nearly $5.10 a gallon in the U.S. on Thursday, a 36% increase since the war began.<\/p>\n

\u201cHigher gasoline and diesel prices are now costing the U.S. economy half a billion dollars more every single day (and rising) versus three weeks ago,\u201d Patrick De Haan, a petroleum analyst at GasBuddy, wrote on X on Monday. \u201cA staggering rise and near record-setting.\u201d<\/p>\n

The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that carries about one-fifth of the world\u2019s crude oil and liquefied natural gas, has already disrupted global shipping. Higher fuel prices are adding to those pressures.<\/p>\n

Fuel accounts for 50% to 60% of the total cost of shipping goods by sea, Penfield said, making energy prices a major driver of shipping costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrices have been going up per container, you\u2019re seeing more of the surcharges, war surcharges, fuel surchargers,\u201d he said. \u201cSo unfortunately, right now everything has just gone up again, anywhere from 10% to 20%, 30%. So it just depends on where you\u2019re moving things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Home energy bills could rise<\/div>\n

Heating homes and cooking with natural gas are also likely to become more expensive if the war drags on.<\/p>\n

Europe\u2019s benchmark natural gas price has risen roughly 71% since the conflict began, according to data from the Intercontinental Exchange.<\/p>\n

Higher natural gas prices can also raise the cost of goods made from petrochemical feedstocks. Those materials are used to produce plastic, rubber and nitrogen fertilizer.<\/p>\n

Grocery prices may rise over time<\/div>\n

U.S. grocery prices are unlikely to spike immediately, said David Ortega, a professor of food economics and policy at Michigan State University. But if oil prices stay elevated for a month or longer, the effects will become harder to avoid.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf oil prices remain high for a month or more,\u201d Ortega said, \u201cwe\u2019re in different territory.\u201d<\/p>\n

Higher oil prices affect agriculture in multiple ways. They raise the cost of fuel for farm equipment and increase fertilizer costs, which are tied to natural gas prices. They also boost demand for vegetable oils such as soybean oil and palm oil, which can be used as substitutes for petroleum-based fuels.<\/p>\n

Still, Ortega said farm-level costs account for only a small portion of what consumers pay at the grocery store. Processing and transportation, both energy-intensive, make up a much larger share.<\/p>\n

\u201cFood gets to the grocery store on diesel, whether it\u2019s on a truck or on a boat,\u201d Ortega said.<\/p>\n

Fresh foods that must be shipped quickly are likely to see price increases sooner than packaged foods, which are less perishable, if oil prices remain high.<\/p>\n

Rising energy prices could worsen inflation<\/div>\n

U.S. oil prices have climbed about 43% from prewar levels, rising to about $96 a barrel Thursday from roughly $67 before the conflict. That increase could add new pressure to inflation in the short term and weigh on economic growth if high prices persist.<\/p>\n

Gregory Daco, chief economist at consulting firm EY-Parthenon, estimated that higher gas prices could push monthly inflation as high as 1% in March, the largest monthly increase in four years. Annual inflation would approach 3% under that scenario.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a significant shock in and of itself,\u201d Daco said.<\/p>\n

Higher prices may curb consumer spending<\/div>\n

Mark Mathews, chief economist and executive director of research at the National Retail Federation, said higher gas prices are likely to hit lower-income households hardest.<\/p>\n

U.S. households spend an average of $2,500 a year, or nearly $50 a week, on gasoline, he said. If weekly costs rise by $10, household budgets feel the strain quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do they offset that?\u201d Mathews said. \u201cGoing out to a movie theater or going to a theme park or going out to eat \u2013 all those areas would be \u2026 more likely see cuts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Francesco D\u2019Acunto, a finance professor at Georgetown University, said consumers\u2019 inflation expectations rise almost immediately when they see higher prices for essentials such as gas and groceries. That can prompt spending cutbacks even before broader price increases show up.<\/p>\n

Looking further ahead, D\u2019Acunto said the combination of inflation and geopolitical uncertainty \u201cmakes many houses and consumers freeze.\u201d Some may delay major purchases such as cars or homes \u201cbecause they don\u2019t know what will happen going forward,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

costs hit gas prices, shipping, groceries and household budgets<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10579,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-12011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12011"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18560,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12011\/revisions\/18560"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12011"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=12011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}