The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that oil prices for the international crude benchmark are now about $100 a barrel, down $20 from a recent peak (all figures U.S.). A New York Times dispatch to The Globe reports that the average price of gasoline in the United States is up more than 30 per cent since late February. Economists anticipate the spike in oil prices will push up inflation at least marginally, and not just at the pump. Goldman Sachs figures every $10 increase in oil prices lifts "core" inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy costs, by 0.04 percentage points. As of January, the Core Personal Consumption Expenditures Index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation index, was 3.1 per cent. That is far higher than the Fed's 2-per-cent target. It is also possible that higher gas prices could lead consumers to pull back on other purchases as they cut spending on discretionary goods and services. If that happens, businesses could be constrained in their ability to raise prices. The spike in oil prices has come at a particularly unfortunate moment for small businesses. Many of them have already been stretched by President Donald Trump's tariffs, along with years of high inflation.