Anna Helhoski

Yeah, both of you as well.

Unsettled, I think, is the right way to frame this.

I recently did a deep dive into warflation, and that's war-induced inflation.

Analysts say that thanks to supply chain disruptions, if you're driving it, wearing it, eating it, or using it in your everyday life, you're probably going to feel the pinch from higher prices eventually.

Yeah, we'll have more data actually tomorrow.

But tariffs were already pushing up prices for things like electronics, clothing, appliances, cars.

And now higher energy and shipping costs are being layered on top of that.

And analysts, again, say that inflation could rise.

Some economists are even warning that if oil prices spike high enough, it could slow the economy and even push the U.S.

toward a recession.

Now, more on that in a minute, but let's back up and do a quick overview of how we got here.

Now, on February 28th, the U.S.

and Israel launched strikes on Iran, and the war began.

In response, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, and that's one of the most critical shipping routes in the world.

Since then, oil prices have skyrocketed.

Before the war, the price of Brent crude, that's the benchmark for the global oil market, was trading around $80 per barrel.

Since then, it's hit more than $100 per barrel.

And that's for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine.

That massive jump is why we've seen gas prices rise roughly 43% since the war began.

The latest national average is above $4, and that's the highest since summer 2022.