gas prices

And the war in the Middle East is to blame.

Gas taxes aren’t popular, but they go toward funding — and maintaining — roads and bridges across the country.

Until ships start moving through the Strait of Hormuz, prices for oil and a range of related goods will likely keep rising. The question is, how long will it take them to come down again?

A new study from the New York Federal Reserve found that lower-income households cut gasoline use by 7% in March, while higher-income households reduced consumption by just 1%.

The pizza chain reported slower-than-expected sales growth in its latest earnings call, with orders declining just as gas prices spiked.

Retail spending rose by 1.7% from February to March. Experts said people are spending their tax refunds and increasingly turning to credit — even for groceries.

The Strait of Hormuz has remained largely closed, with only three sanctioned tankers making it through the waterway according to Reuters.

Federal regulations have raised fuel efficiency over the decades, even though the Trump administration and Congress have recently rolled those rules back.

The New York Fed’s survey shows people expect inflation to hit 3.4% in a year. That’s up from an expectation of 3% in February, before the war in the Middle East started.

As the war in Iran pushes oil prices higher, some governments are shielding consumers with price controls. But economists warn that caps mask scarcity signals and can trigger the kind of panic buying that can even drive up oil prices more.