Oil prices are surging again as Russia continues its assault on Ukraine, pushing crude up to $110 a barrel.
Higher energy prices could worsen the inflation that's already threatening economies everywhere and prompting concern among central banks.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is telling Congress in testimony Wednesday morning that the Fed is ready to begin a cycle of interest rate increases this month in an effort to figh back inflation.
Stocks are opening higher, and energy companies were posting some of the biggest gains as crude prices jumped more than 5%.