Oil Prices Consumer Impacts
FILE - The children's shoe section is seen at a Goodwill store in Roseville, Minn., Aug. 12, 2026.
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High fuel prices are making it more expensive to drive, fly and buy some goods more than seven months into the U.S.-Iran war. That's prolonging the strain on American households as the midterm elections approach., The chief economist at Moody’s Analytics estimates the war has cost the average U.S. household the equivalent of almost $2,000, including $1,100 related to energy. Motorists and airline passengers so far have borne the clearest consequences from disrupted Middle East oil shipments. The elevated cost of making and moving goods hasn't translated into across-the-board retail price increases. Shoppers may not be spared indefinitely, though.