Industry Squeezed by Soaring Energy Prices

Energy prices appear to have reached a tipping point for many industrial users, as inflation outstrips companies’ capacity to absorb higher costs by increasing the prices they charge consumers.

European, US and Asian stock markets all fell last week as oil reached $60 per barrel and corporate leaders around the world issued a series of high-profile profit warnings.

Shares in energy-intensive companies such as manufacturing and transport were hardest hit. FedEx, for example, the US delivery group that has been a leading beneficiary of booming global trade, broke its winning streak by warning that this quarter’s earnings would be hit by jet fuel costs despite an automatic surcharge for customers.
Financial Times