Wednesday, May 13, 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., May 13…reg. $4.51…diesel $5.65
More lousy inflation news today, April producer prices, PPI, that came in far hotter than expected…1.4% and 6.0% year-over-year on headline; 1.0% and 5.2% on core, ex-food and energy.
On the year-over-year figures, they were expected to be 4.9% and 4.3%, respectively, which would have represented a hefty increase from March levels. But the actual numbers were rather shocking.
The bond market, however, was relatively well-behaved, in light of the harsh report, though the 2- and 10-year Treasury yields are at levels not seen since last June and July.
The data, including yesterday’s higher than expected CPI release, presents a difficult backdrop for incoming Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, under pressure from President Trump to cut interest rates.
Warsh was just confirmed as chair by the Senate this afternoon, with current Chair Jerome Powell’s term ending Friday. Powell is staying on as a governor until he is convinced the Justice Department’s investigation into the renovations at the Fed ends, and that he is not at risk of being harassed and subpoenaed in the future.
There wasn’t any major news out of the Middle East today and oil largely held onto its gains of the last three sessions, as the two sides are at an impasse.
The International Energy Agency warned that global observed oil inventories fell at a record pace of around 4 million barrels per day in March and April. The IEA said in its Oil Market Report that with inventories already drawing sharply, further volatility is likely ahead of the peak summer demand season, and that the market could remain severely undersupplied until October even if the conflict ends sooner.
Meanwhile, it is about 4:00 AM in Beijing as I post tonight, and at 10:00 PM ET (10:00 AM, Thurs. there), Chinese President Xi will welcome President Trump. The two will hold a first round of talks, have a state banquet Thursday night, and then more talks on Friday. We await the readouts and any comments from the two leaders in person.
Trump’s arrival at the airport was a good show, the president greeted by China’s vice president and foreign minister, along with an honor guard, a military band and 300 Chinese children with a welcome chant of some kind.
The Dow Jones lost a little ground today, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit new records…again….
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Dow Jones -67…-0.1% [49693]
S&P 500 +43…+0.6% [7444…record]
Nasdaq +314…+1.2% [26402…record]
Oil (WTI) $101.30…Brent $105.90
Gold $4690
Silver $87.70
Bitcoin $79,605 [4:00 PM ET]…disappointing it couldn’t hold $80,000.
U.S. 2-yr. 3.98%
U.S. 10-yr. 4.47%
Japanese 10-yr. 2.57%…highest since 1997!
Back Thurs.
Brian Trumbore
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