Consumers caught in triple stack of pain

Americans are facing mounting cost-of-living pressures as energy prices surge following the Iran war and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, with gasoline poised to exceed $4 a gallon, up from roughly $3 a month ago. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has raised its U.S. inflation projection to 4.2% for the year, up from a pre-war forecast of 3%, while grocery prices are up 3.9% annually and electricity costs jumped 4.8%. A weakened job market with slower hiring and smaller wage gains leaves households less cushioned against these costs, and rising government borrowing has already driven mortgage rates back up to 6.64% from under 6% just a month ago. Richmond Federal Reserve President Tom Barkin warned Friday that consumers are "deferring purchases" and shifting to discount retailers, signaling that progress on inflation "may be at risk of stalling." The triple squeeze from surging energy costs, rising interest rates, and a wobbly stock market threatens to further erode household spending and wealth.