Tuesday, June 30, 3026
[4:10 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 $2.98…diesel $3.75
Tues., June 30…regular $3.84…diesel $4.85
I got a kick out of this post from President Trump Monday night:
“Gasoline Retailers must get their Prices down, IMMEDIATELY! They’re too high considering that Oil is now at $68 a Barrel, and heading south. The Retailers must quickly react to this statement, and do what they know is right – DROP YOUR PRICE FOR OUR GREAT AMERICAN PEOPLE! There will be no gauging, which is totally illegal. If Retailers don’t do this, big problems lie ahead! Start targeting around the $2.50 a Gallon number, and California should stop charging such heavy Taxes on their Gasoline. Soon the Tax will be higher than the Product itself, and the United States will not stand for it, nor will the People of California, who are being abused by these ridiculous Taxes, and by their own Government. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Ah, Mr. President? Gasoline futures are at $2.90. Try starting there. That’s why the average price at the pump is $3.84. I wrote over a month ago we weren’t getting back below $4.00 until gas futures were under $3.00 and stayed there, and we’ve been trading between $2.80 (briefly) and $3.00 for about two weeks. You can guess where we need to go from here to get prices at the pump in the $3.25 range.
These are just facts.
As for West Texas Intermediate, it will finish the quarter down around 30%, its largest quarterly decline since 2020. This plunge follows a surge in supply as traffic accelerated through the Strait of Hormuz after progress toward a peace deal released oil previously trapped inside the Persian Gulf.
Additionally, U.S. sanction waivers granted to Iran have introduced extra volumes into a market already trying to absorb major supply workarounds. Diplomatic efforts continue as Washington and Tehran sent delegations to Doha for negotiations today, though Iran has ruled out direct talks.
U.S. special envoy Steve Wikoff and President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared, are in Doha to discuss negotiations with mediators, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman says, but they will not meet Iranian officials there.
Majed al-Ansari told reporters that no high-level meetings or direct talks between the two sides were scheduled in the coming days.
Meanwhile, Iran maintains its stance on controlling maritime traffic through the waterway. Iranian officials expressed a desire to co-regulate the strategic channel with Oman, but affirmed that Tehran will advance its own regulatory plans independently if necessary to oversee the Strait’s picking up flows.
On Wall Street, we are finishing up one of the most eventful quarters on record today, with stocks rising the most in six years, the war in Iran sent oil prices on a wild swing, tech indexes soaring to staggering record highs, and the dollar regaining its dominance among global currency peers.
And we have a new Fed chief, who is looking to overhaul how the central bank communicates with the market.
Lastly, in the world of sports, LeBron James informed the Los Angeles Lakers he will play elsewhere next season after eight seasons in L.A. There are reports Golden State is looking to recruit him, but he will have interest from Cleveland and Miami, as well.
Despite being 42 years old, James still averaged 20.9 points per game last season, while shooting 51.5 percent from the field. He also grabbed 6.1 rebounds and dished out 7.2 assists.
And in World Cup play this afternoon, Norway beat Ivory Coast 2-1 on a goal by superstar Erling Haaland at the 86’ mark, and then Norway needed a spectacular save near the end by its goalkeeper to secure the victory.
So Norway next meets Brazil in what on paper is a fascinating matchup, next Sunday at MetLife Stadium here in New Jersey.
—
Dow Jones +135…+0.3% [52317…a record]
S&P 500 +58…+0.8% [7499]
Nasdaq +393…+1.5% [26213]
Oil (WTI) $70.05…Brent $73.40
Gold $4022
Silver $59.40
Bitcoin $58,722 [4:00 PM ET]
U.S. 2-yr. 4.15%
U.S. 10-yr. 4.44%
Japanese 10-yr. 2.66%
Back Wed.
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