After enjoying two summers of low petrol prices, consumers are facing the highest prices for petrol in over ten years. The impact of oil prices is indiscriminate. Unlike other economic events such as the decline of blue-collar jobs, energy prices effect all economic classes. This is one of the primary reasons for the attention granted this subject by the presidential candidates and the media. Of course, the price of oil effects more than just consumers.
Many industries feel the strain of higher oil prices.
Trucking companies are an obvious victim of rising energy prices, but firms as diverse as chemical companies and textile manufacturers are also high-energy users. High-energy prices have a direct effect on the profitability of these industries. They raise costs, squeeze profits, and may impact employment levels. Ultimately, this will work its way through to consumer prices, bolstering the Federal Reserve's case for further interest rate increases. Energy prices also may work in reverse.