Wed., Sept. 23, 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
Wed., Sept. 23…regular $4.47…diesel $6.52 [record]
Yesterday, President Trump took center stage at the UN General Assembly and threatened to either “annihilate” Iran…or…cut a deal. He then said his pathetic envoys, Kushner and Witkoff, had negotiated with an Iranian delegation (we later learned through Qatar).
Today, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian delivered a defiant speech to the General Assembly, brandishing pictures of people killed by American and Israeli airstrikes while standing at the lectern Trump had used in talking of annihilation.
Pezeshkian vowed that Iran could “not be made to surrender” and said it would never accept limits on its nuclear program, which he claimed was for peaceful purposes. He accused the United States and Israel of going “against international law” by targeting civilian infrastructure in its strikes on Iran.
“Yes, they did hit us,” he said, “but we did not bend the knee.”
Pezeshkian said Iran is ready to resume discussions, but won’t respond to threats. And he said his country will not allow freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz while sanctions and a U.S. blockade remain in place, underscoring the difficulty in reaching a peace deal despite efforts to revive talks.
It was the first time in the world body’s 81-year history that the president of a country that is actively at war with the United States has set foot in New York to address the Assembly. Just seven months ago, Pezeshkian was running his country from an underground bunker, trying to stay alive as U.S. and Israeli airstrikes rained down.
Now, he is being protected by the Secret Service, as per protocol, and he has been cruising through Manhattan in convoys of SUVs as well as holding marathon diplomatic meetings.
Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi, the top military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, told Iranian state television that the supreme leader had “right now decided to give the government an open hand to negotiate.”
Crude oil futures rose amid the renewed uncertainty over whether a formal agreement to reopen the Strait was possible.
Saudi Arabia is preparing to restart exports through its East-West pipeline in the coming days.
There is talk of a 90-day ban U.S. diesel exports which sent heating oil (essentially interchangeable with diesel) futures down in the U.S., but soaring in Europe. The administration is denying the reports.
All experts agree, an export ban would be awful for the world right now. But President Trump et al are scrambling to get energy prices down significantly by the midterm elections and time is running out, and voter opinions are largely formed at this point.
Meanwhile, U.S. bond yields jumped to their highest levels in nearly two decades, with the dollar also rising and stocks falling.
The 10-year Treasury yield jumped 17 basis points to 5.13%, its highest level since July 2007 and potentially its biggest one-day jump since May. The price of Brent back over $100 helped fuel renewed inflation fears. Economic data also showed rising private-sector business activity and price pressures.
The yield on five-year U.S. Treasuries rose above 5% for the first time in almost two decades, hitting 5.03% after a $70 billion auction of the maturity drew surprisingly weak demand.
[Yields backed off slightly late in the day.]
Tomorrow, the focus turns to the Trump-Xi Jinping summit in Washington, D.C.
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Dow Jones -351…-0.7% [51512]
S&P 500 -58…-0.8% [7706]
Nasdaq -308…-1.1% [26936]
Oil (WTI) $92.50.…Brent $103.40
Gold $4284
Silver $64.40
Bitcoin: $84,491 [4:00 PM ET]
U.S. 2-yr. 4.89%
U.S. 10-yr. 5.10%
Japanese 10-yr. 2.95%
Back Thurs.
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Brian Trumbore
