Thurs., Aug. 20, 2026
[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
Thurs., Aug. 20…regular $4.10…diesel $5.54
‘Regular’ is up 10 cents over the past month, but diesel is up 34 cents! This impacts the economy, and inflation, in a major way.
President Trump on Truth Social, Wed., 6:59 PM:
“No one has given the Islamic Republic of Iran a greater opportunity to make a deal than me. TRAGICALLY, for them, they have failed to take it. Therefore, today, I am announcing the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY! This will be Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale. Their navy is gone, their air force is destroyed, their military factories are now ruble, their currency is worthless, and their country is hanging by a thread. Today, I am also announcing that ANY country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences. Oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, front companies – It all needs to stop NOW. You know who you are. This will be an ECONOMIC D-DAY, and we need all of our Allies to stand with the United States of America to isolate, and defeat, the Iran threat. These maniacs are on the ropes, and these HISTORIC MEASURES will cripple them and their ability to project terror worldwide. IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.”
Yawn. Iran has been facing crippling sanctions for decades. The regime knows how to survive, including brutally suppressing multiple uprisings.
But yesterday I noted the UAE had halted all economic relations with Iran, and this critically includes the banking links between the two. This could have a real negative impact on Tehran…IF Dubai keeps its word.
Crude oil rallied; gas futures traded around $3.24-$3.27 after trading in a range from $3.32 to $3.19 on Wednesday.
There are conflicting reports on how much oil is getting through the Strait of Hormuz. Some say flows are still limited, but then you have the White House saying, including the president, that significant volumes are getting through.
Axios reported the U.S. military has quietly established a shipping corridor in and out of the Strait to transport millions of barrels of oil each day, two officials told Axios.
Under the operation, which has been underway for the last several weeks, 15-20 tankers have entered and exited the Strait each night through a southern channel along the coast of Oman.
About 10 million barrels of oil a day – roughly half the pre-war volume – is being transported out of the Strait and injected into the global energy market, the officials said.
A task force for the mission is reportedly being run out of the Army headquarters in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The task force is coordinating with regional Gulf partners.
The operation was made possible by a recent two-week U.S. Central Command military campaign that degraded Iran’s radar and maritime surveillance systems, the officials said. Iran thus has diminished visibility of the traffic in the southern channel of the Strait and is more or less flying ‘blind’ in trying to detect the level of ship traffic outside its waters.
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Russia pounded Kyiv and the surrounding region with ballistic missiles and drones last night, killing at least 16. The Ukrainian air force had to admit all of the ballistic missiles got through, Ukraine facing a chronic shortage of U.S.-made Patriot air defense interceptors.
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Stocks fell hard today as bond yields headed back up after the Treasury Dept.’s little operation to buy longer-dated Treasury securities yesterday helped the market briefly. It didn’t help that Dow component Walmart fell 9% as its earnings report this morning revealed slowing sales growth.
Dow Jones -703…-1.3% [52759]
S&P 500 -66…-0.9% [7641]
Nasdaq -263…-1.0% [26067]
Oil (WTI) $86.60…Brent $93.45
Gold $4530
Silver $68.30
Bitcoin $72,620…over $70,000 for the first time in 2 months …. [4:00 PM ET]
U.S. 2-yr. 4.18%
U.S. 10-yr. 4.70%
Japanese 10-yr. 2.84%
Check out my Week in Review, posted Fridays, 4:30 PM ET.
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Brian Trumbore
Drop me a line…briannovak24@gmail.com.
