Diesel has hit a record high and the world's oil routes are being rearranged — bad news for anyone who buys food, fuel, or a home, and good news for defense firms, banks, and US energy exporters.

• Oil shipping chokepoints in the Gulf and the Red Sea are shut or disrupted, and a Saudi backup pipeline was knocked out by drones, so diesel prices have jumped to an all-time high.
• Because almost everything is trucked, expensive diesel pushes up prices for groceries, clothes, and electronics.
• The Fed raised interest rates into the mess, government bond yields went above 5%, and mortgage rates are back at 7% — but higher rates cannot fix an oil shortage.
• Iran has openly said it will hit oil infrastructure before every Fed meeting, forcing a choice between crushing the economy with rate hikes or letting inflation run.
• Several forces point the same way: weapons makers profit from a longer war, banks earn more on every dollar the government borrows, and the US gains leverage over China and Europe by becoming their energy supplier.

Outlook: Expect more attacks on oil infrastructure around the late-October Fed meeting, with prices for fuel and food likely to keep climbing.