Kimberly Adams

Wall Street today, oil prices went back up again, sending markets down.

We'll have the details when we do the numbers.

Now, there is some useful info in February's CPI report, even if a lot of it is a bit outdated due to the war.

For example, even though prices overall rose 2.4 percent year over year, as analysts expected, natural gas prices rose at a much faster pace.

They're up 10.9% compared to the same time last year.

And that's before the Iran war threatened to choke off a fifth of the global gas supply.

Marketplace's Nova Saffo takes a look.

Lots of American households saw higher heating bills this winter, especially in the Northeast and Midwest.

A big factor is that it was colder than last winter.

That's Mark Wolf.

He heads the National Energy Assistance Directors Association.

The cold weather and the higher demand came on top of another trend that's also elevated prices for natural gas.

The consumer advocacy group Power Lines says three in five Americans are feeling financially stressed because of rising utility bills.

Over the last few months, the cost pressures added up.

Wolf says aid groups he works with have been reporting a lot more need.

Could the Iran conflict make the situation worse?

Well, in Asia and Europe, natural gas prices have been soaring because liquefied natural gas exports from the Middle East have been interrupted.

But for the U.S., there's some good news, says Ken Medlock, energy economist at Rice University.

That's because the U.S.

actually produces plenty of natural gas.