\n<\/p>\n
A birthday beach trip. Weekend jaunts with the kids. Even a bedtime beer.<\/p>\n
As gas prices remain high, people around the globe are stretching their paychecks, giving up small comforts as everyday costs bloat and they try to keep up with their biggest bills.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor now, we\u2019re still managing to hold on,\u201d said Luis Catalano, a taxi driver waiting to fuel up at a gas station in Buenos Aires, Argentina. \u201cBut I don\u2019t know for how long.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even as glimmers of hope for a potential breakthrough<\/a> in the war in Iran emerged, the conflict persisted for a 24th day on Monday and the vital oil pathway of the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> remained at a virtual standstill. <\/p>\n Across continents, the costs were hitting home.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t make it to the end of the month,\u201d said German Toledo, a 38-year-old road safety worker who was fueling up at the YPF station where Catalano idled. Like others, Toledo said surging gas prices have piled on to other rising costs and stagnant wages, making the pain more acute. His salary hasn\u2019t budged in five years.<\/p>\n One job, Toledo said, is no longer enough to make ends meet.<\/p>\n U.S. President Donald Trump injected a bit of optimism Monday that relief might arrive at the pump, saying talks were ongoing with Iranian leaders and that they were eager to make a deal to end the war. Those claims drove down global oil prices<\/a>, with the price for a barrel of Brent crude falling 9.7% to $101.26, down from nearly $120 last week<\/a>. <\/p>\n Iran denied any talks had been held, and its parliament speaker called Trump\u2019s claims a ploy to manipulate markets. Either way, the news had no immediate impact on consumer prices.<\/p>\n Oil follows snaking journeys that can take weeks to go from drill sites to gas pumps. It must pass through refineries, where it is turned to fuel, before it is shipped off via pipelines and tankers to terminals, and then on to gas stations. Pump prices similarly lag global markets, sometimes taking weeks to respond.<\/p>\n So, motorists continue to bear the cost.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just barely getting by,\u201d said Catalano.<\/p>\n As with any economic disruption, people with the least have been hurt the most, leaving them to scour already bare-bones budgets for new places to cut back.<\/p>\n Kevin Plucken, a 35-year-old janitor in Cologne, Germany, can only afford to put 20 euros of gas into his car at a time. On the hunt to cut his \u201cburdensome\u201d costs, he\u2019s had to change how he spends his weekends. Instead of driving his two children for an activity somewhere, he looks for things to do close to home.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just too expensive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n At sites dotted around the globe, it seemed many could agree that the spike in gas was just the latest blow for average people who\u2019ve grown accustomed to relentless high costs.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything is going up,\u201d said Felicia Iwasa, of Lagos, Nigeria. \u201cThe economy is not easy for us.\u201d<\/p>\n In the Philippine capital of Manila, drivers of the colorfully adorned street icons known as \u201cjeepneys\u201d have likewise struggled, with costs for the diesel they rely on rising even higher than gasoline. The vehicles morphed out of jeeps left behind by American troops during World War II. They were modified, reproduced, and outfitted in showy d\u00e9cor, becoming a key way of getting around for working-class Filipinos.<\/p>\n Johnny Pagnado, a 55-year-old driver, said he\u2019s cutting whatever costs he can, down to his nightly bedtime bottle of beer. But he worries about longer-term impacts, like how he\u2019ll afford to send four children to college.<\/p>\n Another driver, 34-year-old Sandy Ro\u00f1o, said a beach trip to celebrate his birthday next month is likely off. He couldn\u2019t even afford his rent last month and wasn\u2019t able to make the payment on his jeepney. <\/p>\n If prices stay so high, Ro\u00f1o said, he\u2019ll be forced to find new work.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll stop driving and look for another job,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Jim Gomez and Joeal Calupitan in Manila, Philippines; Daniel Niemann in Cologne, Germany; Victor Caivano in Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Dan Ikpoyi in Lagos, Nigeria.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n