Iran war

Analysts don’t see an end to war in the Middle East on the horizon.

Average diesel prices hit $5.68 per gallon on Wednesday, only 13 cents lower than the highest U.S. average price ever recorded.

A glut of polyethylene had squeezed U.S. producers for years. But the war in the Middle East disrupted the global plastics market, sending prices higher and improving margins for producers along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

CEOs are slightly more confident now than they were right after the Iran war started, but not by much, according to the latest survey from The Conference Board and The Business Council.

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate edged up to 6.66% last week, the highest in a year, reversing a decline that had briefly pushed rates below 6% in February

Ongoing wars, plus a “super El Niño” this year, could lead to sharp price hikes at the grocery store.

Global warfare has impacted the supply chain, pushing diesel prices close to the highest they have ever been.

Tax revenues are coming in higher than expected in states like Alaska and New Mexico as oil prices remain elevated.

Trucking and other transportation costs are up, thanks in part to the war in the Middle East. As a result, business owners are strategizing on whether to absorb those higher costs or pass them on to their customers.

Oil prices could have been even higher, but, for now, investors expect Iran and the U.S. to come back to the negotiating table.