Scott Horsley

Yeah, employers were already skittish about adding workers, add in the uncertainty that surrounds energy prices and how much money consumers are going to have to spend.

And businesses are likely to get even more cautious.

Yesterday, the Labor Department said the hiring rate in February, before the war began, was the lowest since the early months of the pandemic.

We will get a more complete look at the March job market on Friday.

Yeah.

Investors were cheered by signs from both President Trump and his Iranian counterpart that maybe a negotiated end of the war is in the offing.

That sparked a relief rally on Wall Street.

The Dow gained more than 1,100 points yesterday.

But this is not the first time investors have celebrated a possible truce only to find out that they were premature.

So we will see if the optimism is warranted this time.

Even when the fighting does end, analysts say it may take some time to unwind the damage that's been done by this war and bring down the prices that the conflict has pushed up.

You're welcome.

AAA says the average price of gasoline nationwide is now just under $4.02 a gallon.

It's the first time pump prices have topped the $4 mark in more than three and a half years.

Gas prices have jumped more than a dollar a gallon in the months since the U.S.

and Israel launched their war against Iran, snarling energy traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

AAA says the average price of gasoline nationwide is now just under $4.02 a gallon.

It's the first time pump prices have topped the $4 mark in more than three and a half years.

Gas prices have jumped more than a dollar a gallon in the months since the U.S.