The initial impact, argues Mr. Lawrence, is like a tax, as higher prices for imported goods erode Americans' purchasing power.

The result, he addded, is that "The prices have eroded and the margins have been substantially reduced."

Shareholders may wish to take their profits before the prices erode further, but many investment advisers make a persuasive case for holding firm.

While the carriers worry that higher prices will erode traffic, most industry executives attribute the sluggish traffic to a weak economy.

Post-war gold production never reached the peak of the early 1940s, as inflation and the fixed price of gold eroded its value.

A weakening real estate market and other possible harbingers of recession suggest that oil demand - and therefore prices - could erode even further.

The prices of many blue-chip issues have been eroding amid dwindling volume.

Productivity has been squeezed and prices have eroded," Mr. Magid noted.

Many Kindle owners have said the low price motivates them to buy more e-books, but publishers feared that the price would eventually erode their profits.

"Investors will rapidly lose interest in such projects, prices will erode and money will be harder to raise," he said.