Since monetary policy operates with a considerable lag, those pressures might be deemed sufficient justification for higher interest rates now.

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Such pressures could ultimately mean higher prices for shoppers.

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Meanwhile, supply constraints from the decline in mature fields in Mexico, Norway and the North Sea in respect to rising demand for oil in China and India, are also pressures going toward higher prices.

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Global sales were higher by 1.9 percent, and the company blamed currency pressures in part for the slower earnings growth.

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In U.S. economic news, higher oil prices pushed up February import prices for the first time in three months, hinting at new inflation pressures, though the gain came in below expectations.

WSJ: Dow Ekes Out a Gain