Brent crude rose above $110 recently. Cold weather should push that price higher over the next several weeks. If so, it would be a primary factor in the sharp rise in the price of gasoline in the United States, which has topped $3.50 for an average gallon of regular among most of the largest states. The ongoing rise may undermine consumer spending, if it has not done so already.
Several signs indicate that consumer confidence has already begun to slip from levels in late 2013. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment data showed a final reading of 81.2 in January, down from 82.5 in December. Retail sales have been poor, although some of that has been blamed on frigid weather.
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