Wednesday, March 11, 2026…4:10 PM ET
[4:00 PM ET closing prices for stocks; 3:50ish for commodities and bonds.]
Tale of the Tape at the gas pump, nationwide averages, courtesy of AAA.
Fri., Feb. 27…regular gas $2.98…diesel $3.75
Wed., Mar. 11…reg. $3.57…diesel $4.83
Wednesday, the International Energy Agency proposed the largest release of oil reserves in its history to bring down crude prices, 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency stocks. The release would exceed the 182 million barrels of oil that IEA member countries put onto the market in two releases in 2022 in response to Russia launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The IEA proposal is intended to counter the massive disruption caused by the near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
IEA members hold 1.2 billion barrels in public stocks, plus another 600 million in mandatory commercial inventories.
But the market was unimpressed, as this move was well-telegraphed, and oil rose, though unlike Monday and Tuesday, the action was orderly.
At least 14 ships have been attacked in the Strait, including three in the past 24 hours. The most recent vessels included a container ship, a dry bulk vessel and a bulk carrier.
I do have to add that yesterday I mentioned the comments of Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser, who said as part of the earnings report that “There would be catastrophic consequences for the world’s oil markets, the longer the disruption goes on.”
I should have also noted, though, that Nasser, when asked how quickly Aramco could restore output to around 10 million barrels a day once the Strait reopens, said production could be ramped up “in days, not weeks.”
But the waterway isn’t close to being reopened, boys and girls.
Separately, Iran’s military says it is now targeting banks across the Middle East that do business with the U.S. or Israel; and advised people in the region to stay at least 1,000 meters away from such buildings, al-Jazeera reports. Dubai could be at increased risk as it is home to many international financial institutions, France24 reported Tuesday.
Iran also claimed it will now target offices across the region associated with Google, Microsoft, Palantir, IBM, Nvidia, and Oracle for those firms’ alleged assistance with the U.S.-Israeli war effort.
On the economic data front, we had a totally irrelevant consumer price report for February, as this was collected before the oil shock we’re experiencing. Each number was as expected. On headline CPI, up 0.3% from January, 2.4% year-over-year, and on core, ex-food and energy, 0.2% and 2.5%…the last one the key figure.
We also had the budget deficit report for February, a $307.5 billion deficit, compared with a $296.3bn deficit in the same month a year earlier. Customs duties came in at $26.6 billion, but this doesn’t reflect any impact from the Supreme Court ruling on tariffs and possible refunds.
The deficit for the first five months of the fiscal year (starting Oct. 1) is $1.004 trillion, about 12% lower than the comparable period in 2025.
Net interest payments on the national debt totaled $79 billion in February.
Stocks had a quiet day, compared to the recent volatility.
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In the sports world, basketball fans are still buzzing over the performance of Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo, who last night had the second-highest point total in NBA history, 83, a figure exceeded only by Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game way back in 1962. Kobe Bryant previously held the No. 2 spot when he dropped 81 for the Lakers on Jan. 22, 2006.
I didn’t watch any of the game, as I was engrossed in my Wake Forest Demon Deacons’ ACC Tournament victory over Virginia Tech, but what gets me is Bam was just 20 of 43 from the field. It’s not like he was on fire – 7 of 22 from 3-point land.
But he made 36 of 43 free throws (both new records for FTs made and attempted, post 1983-84). This is a guy who hadn’t been to the line even 20 times in a single game this season, and his best point total before Tuesday was 32.
Miami’s franchise record was 62 points by LeBron James set on March 3, 2014.
Dow Jones -289…-0.6% [47417]
S&P 500 -5…-0.1% [6775]
Nasdaq +19…+0.1% [22716]
Oil (WTI) $87.90
Gold $5180
Silver $85.95
Bitcoin $70,650 [4:00 PM ET]
U.S. 2-yr. 3.64%
U.S. 10-yr. 4.21%
Japanese 10-yr. 2.15%
Back Thurs.
Brian Trumbore
