New fees, fewer flights: Higher fuel prices pinch consumer budgets beyond the gas pump

Many companies tie these adjustments to surging oil prices with the blockage of the key Strait of Hormuz passageway depressing supply. Prices on the May contract for Brent — a global benchmark for oil prices — have surged more than 55% in March, on track for their biggest monthly gain on record going back to 1998. U.S. oil prices are up slightly less, logging a 49% increase month to date.Companies and other organizations are increasingly preparing for an environment in which the conflict — and subsequent jo ...