Mais sobre Gas prices, a big factor in inflation, are falling After climbing for months, gasoline prices have declined for 28 days in a row, giving consumers a welcome break. Energy analysts say American consumers are spending $140 million less on gasoline daily than they were a month ago. But the trend could easily reverse, especially if a hurricane knocks out a refinery on the Gulf Coast, since global oil supplies remain fairly tight. Gasoline was a major reason that U.S. consumer prices were 9.1 percent higher in June than they were a year earlier, the biggest annual increase in four decades. Fuel affects the prices of all goods that are shipped, and fuel costs have a significant effect on the profits of farmers, construction companies and airlines. The prices of diesel and jet fuel are also declining, but at a slower pace than gasoline. Fears that tightening Western sanctions on Russia would drastically reduce global oil inventories have proved overblown, as Moscow has instead sold oil to to China, India and South America. In the meantime, expectations that the economy of China, the biggest importer of crude oil, would pick up have also been unfulfilled because of Covid lockdowns. Rising prices: Inflation is high across much of the world right now, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushes up food and fuel prices, and transportation and manufacturing issues continue to keep some goods scarce. In May, inflation in Britain hit a 40-year high of 9.1 percent. A food distribution center in Kramatorsk, in eastern Ukraine.Mauricio Lima for The New York Times Ukraine swings back with Western weapons As Russian forces continue pounding civilian areas, Ukraine’s military has begun to punch back, striking bases and ammunition depots deep within occupied territory in Luhansk, southern Ukraine and the Donetsk region with the help of new, more powerful weapons provided by the West. This latest strategy being used by Ukrainian forces is still in its early days, and it is not yet clear whether it is having a significant impact on the battlefield, allowing the Ukrainians to disrupt Russia’s artillery attacks and offensive operations. Some Ukrainian officials argue that the Russians are being forced to move supply hubs farther from the front, a claim that could not be verified. Crucial to this effort has been the arrival of new long-range weapons systems and artillery units, particularly the truck-mounted multiple rocket launchers known as High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, which began arriving in Ukraine earlier this summer. The systems are equipped with satellite-guided rockets with a range of more than 40 miles. Destruction: Footage from the Kherson Region, an occupied territory hit by a HIMARS rocket, shows a wasteland of twisted metal and buildings reduced to rubble. “Ukraine, with American weapons, is bombing a peaceful city like a genuine terrorist,” said Katerina Gubareva, the deputy head of the Russia-installed government in the region. In other news from the war: A Moscow court ordered a prominent Russian opposition politician to be kept in custody for two months over his criticism of the war. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church was once a dominant force in the country, but now officials suspect that some priests may be collaborating with Russia. The European Space Agency is formally ending its partnership with Russia on a rover mission to explore the surface of Mars. President Biden with the Israeli defense minister, Benny Gantz, left, and Prime Minister Yair Lapid.Doug Mills/The New York Times Biden begins his Middle East trip Beginning a four-day Middle East tour yesterday, President Biden sought to calm Israeli fears of a nuclear deal with Iran. In a recorded interview aired on Israeli television shortly after his arrival, Biden argued that Israel would be safer with a renewed accord and that it had been a mistake to leave the agreement under Donald Trump in 2018. Biden once again rejected Iran’s demand that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps be taken off Washington’s foreign terrorist list as part of any agreement. He said he would hold to that position even if it meant no deal. In the interview, Biden also said that he would use force against Iran if necessary as a “last resort” to stop it from obtaining a nuclear weapon. One of the missions of the trip will be to make sure the U.S. is on the same page with Israel, Saudi Arabia and other enemies of Iran if talks aimed at a new accord fail. Biden also hopes that the trip will help get oil to gas pumps for frustrated Americans and improve relations with Saudi Arabia. Quotable: “The only thing worse than the Iran that exists now is an Iran with nuclear weapons, and if we can return to the deal, we can hold them tight,” Biden said. “They’re closer to a nuclear weapon now than they were before.” Fulsome praise: Israeli leaders welcomed Biden with enthusiasm. On his arrival, the country’s interim prime minister, Yair Lapid, called Bid