Tues., Aug. 25, 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
Tues., Aug. 24…regular $4.09…diesel $5.61
Both regular and diesel were unchanged from Monday.
Trump on Truth Social, Tues. AM:
“The failing Islamic Republic of Iran is not paying large segments of their military, while at the same time killing protesters, even when they are not protesting, at levels not seen before. It is a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions, and must be stopped, NOW.”
Meanwhile….
Legendary billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller, who mentored Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in his early career as a hedge fund trader, and later, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, suggested his former pupil is making a mistake by wading into the bond market.
Bessent recently pledged to increase the Treasury’s purchases of long-dated bonds, a move widely seen as an attempt to push down yields in the world’s most important debt market.
But Druckenmiller, in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, argued that policymakers should let the bond market do its job, recalling the lessons he learned during his time as a hedge fund manager.
“Governments defending prices against fundamentals always lose,” Druckenmiller wrote.
“I have spent five decades trading on a simple premise: Markets aggregate information no committee possesses, and prices are how that information reaches decision makers,” Druckenmiller wrote. “The long-term Treasury yield is the most important price in the world. It is also the only fiscal disciplinarian the U.S. has left.”
Today, Treasury yields fell with the further decline in oil.
But yesterday I noted that the price of diesel is subject to different factors, or as TotalEnergies SE CEO Patrick Pouyanne said Monday at a conference in Stavenger, Norway, that while crude cargoes are able to transit the Strait of Hormuz “very quietly” today, the higher cost of shipping means that no refined products are making the journey. At the same time, Ukrainian drone attacks have significantly curbed fuel supplies from Russia, he said.
“You have a bearish crude oil market and a very bullish product markets, which is very strange. Our consumers in Europe will suffer on this one” and in the U.S. “gasoline prices would not go lower than $4 as President Trump would like.”
Shell Plc CEO Wael Sawan said the market for oil products was being squeezed by the “triple threat” of Russian refinery attacks and the dangers to shipping in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea. The company is working to get as much refined products as possible out of its own assets, he said.
Their comments reflect growing concern about how the conflict in the Middle East is affecting specific corners of the global market, with significant consequences for the wider economy.
The premium at which products such as diesel trade relative to crude is close to the highest level in more than 15 years.
It costs about $20 million to get a very large crude carrier capable of carrying 2 million barrels to make the journey through Hormuz, Pouyanne said. For smaller ships that carry refined products, the extra cost is too high “so you don’t have a single tanker of products moving out of Hormuz,” he said.
Ukraine’s drone attacks on Russian refineries have curbed the country’s fuel supplies by 3 million to 3.5 million barrels a day, Pouyanne said. And as I’ve noted many times the last few weeks, Russia has also ceased the export of diesel fuel until at least January.
Crude oil fell more than 3% today to $82 on WTI, as investors assessed signs of easing tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Pakistan and Qatar said they were continuing mediation efforts. At the same time, Washington’s latest measures to increase economic pressure on Iran were less severe than markets had anticipated.
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Canada retaliated today against the U.S., saying it intended to impose tariffs of up to 50% on roughly 700 products following the collapse of trade talks.
Officials said that effective Sept. 8, Canada plans to place tariffs ranging from 15% to 50% on about $20 billion of goods, or roughly 7% of total U.S. imports. Among the products targeted by Ottawa are U.S. steel, aluminum, motorcycles, washers and dryers, processed cheese, and clams.
U.S. steel and aluminum are already subject to a 25% tariff, but that will double to 50%, officials said.
Canada’s pending duties are in response to the Trump administration’s new 50% tariff on about $20 billion of Canadian imports, which took effect on Saturday.
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Lastly, about two hours ago we learned of the passing of the most beloved figure in America, period…Dolly Parton, 80. All she represented was “good.”
A tremendous philanthropist, trailblazer…she never said a bad word about anyone, and in all aspects set a positive example, and I’m not even bringing up her musical career! In turn, she was deeply loved across this country.
God has a new friend upstairs. He is beaming as He welcomes her. “Girl, you really done good!”
Here’s Dolly’s first big hit on the Billboard Pop Chart, after a decade of Country Hits… “Here You Come Again” ….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chj2DmeaHPw
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Dow Jones +160…+0.3% [53577]
S&P 500 +24…+0.3% [7677]
Nasdaq +171…+0.7% [26151]
Oil (WTI) $81.50…Brent $87.80
Gold $4665
Silver $69.00
Bitcoin $78,920 [4:00 PM ET]
U.S. 2-yr. 4.18%
U.S. 10-yr. 4.63%
Japanese 10-yr. 2.87%
Back Wed.
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Brian Trumbore
Drop me a line…briannovak24@gmail.com.
