AP NewsWatch

I'm Ben Thomas with an AP News Minute.

Talk of proposals for ending the war in the Middle East had oil prices easing and stocks

rising.

Brent crude fell 3%, settling above $97 per barrel.

On Wall Street, the S&P rose half a percent.

The Dow added 305 points or 0.7%, the NASDAQ gained 0.8%.

But US gas prices are still rising, Triple A puts the nationwide average above 398 per

gallon.

David McEw reports economic research cited by the head of the European Central Bank

suggests inflationary pressures may not be quick to disappear.

It turns out that people don't easily forget their experiences with inflation.

Businesses learned they had to raise prices faster at shorter intervals.

So that means they may be quicker to pass on those higher oil prices to consumers.

Additionally, workers may be quicker to demand raises to compensate them for their loss

purchasing power.

That's the AP's David McEw and I'm Ben Thomas.