Mon., Aug. 10, 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
Mon., Aug. 10…regular $4.00…diesel $5.29
A lot changed over the weekend. Saturday, a top Iranian national security official, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, issued a sweeping set of demands that he said the United States must meet before the Strait of Hormuz can reopen to maritime traffic, throwing the fate of the waterway into question.
Zolghadr, who issued a statement through state media, laid out multiple requirements for reopening the Strait. The U.S. must lift its naval blockade and sanctions on Iran, withdraw the U.S. military from around Iran, pay war reparations and release frozen Iranian assets, as well as end attacks on Iran’s allies in the region and threats against the country.
The cease-fire between Iran and the United States, agreed to in June with the MOU (memorandum of understanding), said sanctions would be fully lifted only in the event of a final deal regarding Iran’s nuclear program. And U.S. officials have said in the past that Iran could access its frozen funds if it committed to giving up its highly enriched uranium first.
Iran and Oman were still negotiating an agreement on the future management of the Strait, which has been effectively closed in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran in February.
[Sunday, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s military adviser Mohsen Rezaee, a former commander in chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, was named the new leader of the Supreme National Security Council, state media reported late Sunday. He replaces Zolghadr, a fellow hard-liner who accepted a new position as political adviser to the supreme leader, so hardly a demotion. Zolghadr will likely be the public face, representing Khamenei, a video of whom was released over the weekend which was inconclusive as to his true health. Zolghadr will clearly be working closely with Rezaee.]
President Trump, in an interview with Axios on Sunday, said of the talks with Iran the U.S. is “only semi-negotiating” and “low keying it.”
“We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money,” Trump said, noting the U.S. naval blockade was deepening its financial woes. “We are low keying it…It will work out. It always works out. It’s like a chess game.”
Spoken like a man who once again changed his tune 180, and clearly wants out very badly, advice given him by Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, as multiple reports have it.
You can see for good reason why Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a new defense pact between the three over the weekend. They can’t count on the United States, that’s for sure.
Then at 12:31 PM today on Truth Social, Trump posted:
“I see that Representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran are asking for compensation for the damage done to them during the last five month Military Conflict (started because, THEY WILL NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON), even though it was never mentioned in any of our negotiations or meetings! But it is an interesting idea because now I am likewise demanding compensation from Iran, for all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded with their roadside bombs and many conflicts, for which they are famous, as led initially by General Soleimani, including the families of those killed on the USS Cole, and thousands of others killed in combat. Additionally, compensation should be paid to the families of the hundreds of thousands of innocent protestors that Iran has killed over the last 50 years, not to mention the 52,000 that have been killed in the last five months. I have instructed my representatives to put this firmly into any, and all, future negotiations. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
For good reason crude oil rose today, the price on WTI to over $82, 5%, with Brent over $87, and gasoline futures hitting $3.13, up 14 cents from Friday’s close. That $4.00 nationwide price at the pump noted above doesn’t go below $4.00 with gas futures over $3.00.
There are zero talks going on between the U.S. and Iran, and Trump countered this afternoon with a new marker he wants Iran to accept, which of course they won’t.
Separately, the U.S.’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve is now below 300 million barrels, hovering at its lowest level since 1983, once again.
Stocks fell (barely); bond yields rose on renewed inflation fears.
Speaking of which, we have new readings on consumer and producer prices, Wed. and Thurs.
And, lastly, NOAA announced this afternoon that the contiguous United States set a record for its hottest month ever in July.
Last month averaged 76.89 degrees F. across the Lower 48 states, eclipsing the Dust Bowl’s July 1936 record by an eighth of a degree.
The biggest driver of the heat was at night. Nighttime lows, which are crucial for people and agriculture to recover from hot days, smashed the old record for hottest minimums by 0.7 degrees, NOAA said. Hotter nights are a classic sign of human-caused climate change, according to scientists.
Yes, for the trader community out there, this is one area where you do not want a trend of higher lows.
…Lastly, Part II…song I can’t get out of my head…Don’t worry, it’s a great one if you dare click on it. The 5th Dimension’s “Workin’ On A Groovy Thing,” written by Neil Sedaka! Marilyn McCoo is on my list of Most Beautiful Women of all time…not to get myself in more trouble. [Believe me…I’m in enough of it as it is. I could lose my job.]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAVZcmlaoLw
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Dow Jones -61…-0.1% [53975]
S&P 500 -4…-0.1% [7753]
Nasdaq -85…-0.3% [26605]
Oil (WTI) $82.10…Brent $87.50
Gold $4390
Silver $65.85
Bitcoin $63,985 [4:00 PM ET]
U.S. 2-yr. 4.24%
U.S. 10-yr. 4.70%
Japanese 10-yr. 2.79%
Back Tues.
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Brian Trumbore
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