US energy consumers have spent $121 bn extra due to war: Moody’s — SkimNews
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- Moody's Analytics estimates US consumers have spent an extra $121 billion on energy since Trump's war with Iran began in February, averaging $930 per household and accounting for more than half of the conflict's total added expenses of $1,760 per household.
- Moody's chief economist Mark Zandi told CNBC consumers are "under a lot of financial pressure," with the remaining per-household costs broken down as $425 from higher interest rates and $405 from increased military spending, the latter funded through national debt expansion or higher taxes.
- Iran responded to US attacks by shutting down commercial shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, sending global energy prices spiking and triggering the cost increases quantified in the Moody's analysis.
- Karthik Sankaran of the Quincy Institute warned that relief for US energy consumers is far off because global cushions against shocks have been depleted — the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve has released about 130 million barrels, seaborne tanker storage is exhausted, and China is ramping imports to 7.2 million barrels per day from a June low of 6 million.
- Sankaran also noted that diesel price spikes will hit Global South countries especially hard because diesel powers trucks, buses, and agricultural equipment in poorer nations with low automobile ownership.
- CNN reported that fuel price-driven protests have broken out across Syria, Guatemala, France, Portugal, and the Philippines, with Syrian demonstrators on Sunday blocking the Hasaka–Deir ez-Zor highway by burning tires and stopping oil tankers.
Why it matters: The analysis quantifies the direct household-level cost of a war launched without congressional authorization — $1,760 per family in added expenses — and Sankaran's warning makes clear there is no near-term relief: the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve has shed 130 million barrels, seaborne storage is exhausted, and China has pushed imports to 7.2 million barrels per day, leaving American consumers exposed to continued price pressure.
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