US retail sales jumped 1.7% in March compared to February, according to a Commerce Department report, but the headline figure was largely driven by a 15.5% spike in spending at gas stations following the outbreak of the Iran war, now in its eighth week. Excluding fuel costs, sales rose a more modest 0.6%, buoyed partly by government tax refunds and warm weather. Economists warn that with gas prices now averaging over $4 a gallon nationally — more than a dollar higher than before the conflict began on 28 February, which shut down the Strait of Hormuz (a critical waterway through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies pass) — household budgets are under increasing strain, with signs that lower-income consumers in particular are already cutting back on non-essential purchases.