Iran War Costs US Households $2,000 Each as Gas Holds Above $4
Updated
Updated · CNN · Oct 13
Iran War Costs US Households $2,000 Each as Gas Holds Above $4
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Oct 13
Summary
$265 billion in added costs since late February has hit US consumers, Moody’s Analytics estimates, equal to about $2,000 for the average household as the Iran war keeps lifting living expenses.
The biggest blow is energy: the Strait of Hormuz disruption choked Gulf oil and gas flows, leaving families about $1,100 worse off and pushing national gasoline prices to $4.34 a gallon from $2.98 before the war.
Higher inflation has also driven borrowing costs up, with 30-year mortgage rates reaching 7.4% and adding about $360 per household, while real wages have fallen in nearly every month since the conflict began.
Airfares were up 23% year over year in August as airlines passed through higher jet-fuel costs, and homes using heating oil are expected to pay 21% more than last winter.
The consumer squeeze is feeding political fallout ahead of the midterms: only 27% approve of President Donald Trump on the economy, while the Pentagon has told lawmakers the war itself has cost at least $45.1 billion.