Food and travel costs expected to surge amid prolonged conflict, analyst says
March 23, 2026 02:26 pm
Consumers around the world can expect to pay more for groceries and travel as the energy crisis triggered by US-Israel war with Iran drags on, an analyst told CNN.
People living in advanced and developing economies will all continue to feel the financial pressure as surging energy prices flow through to other parts of the economic system, Amena Bakr, Head of Middle East Energy & OPEC+ Insights of Kpler, said.
“This impacts all supply chains and it’s not just related directly to energy. Energy feeds into everything,” she said.
Bakr said traders expect a prolonged conflict and oil prices to remain high for the rest of the year, without an alternative to make up for the shortage in the market.
“No one believes that this conflict is just going to be very short lived,” she said.
“Even if we do get some kind of resolution, it needs to end up with the reopening of Hormuz,” she added, referencing the critical waterway leading out of the Persian Gulf that has been effectively closed since the war began.
Source: CNN
- Agencies
