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60%
Financial Times: “Oil prices posted the biggest rise in decades this month as the war in Iran chokes global energy supplies and sends shockwaves across major financial markets and economies. … “Brent crude, the international benchmark, settled at $118.35 on Tuesday, close to its highest level since the start of the conflict in the Middle East, as traders fearing a prolonged shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz rushed to secure cargoes. … The price has risen more than 60 percent in March, eclipsing the previous record gain of 46 percent following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990.”
+$4
U.S. gas prices jumped past an average of $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022 on Tuesday, as the Iran war pushes fuel prices higher worldwide, reports the Associated Press. According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline is now $4.02 — over a dollar more expensive than before the war began on Feb. 28, marking the largest monthly jump the motor club has seen on record.
“It would hurt consumers and we’d have to think about if that continued… But that’s like really the last of our concerns right now.”
— Trump economic adviser Kevin Hassett told CNBC if the Iran war “were to be extended, it wouldn’t really disrupt the U.S. economy very much at all.”
59%
A new Economist/YouGov Poll finds 59% of Americans say the economy is getting worse.
“If you combine an economy that people don’t like with a prolonged war that you know nobody in his base believes they voted for, that’s a toxic problem.”
— A Trump ally, quoted by Politico.
1.4%
U.S. economic growth slowed in the final three months of last year, dragged down by the six-week shutdown of the federal government and a pullback in consumer spending, AP reported. The nation’s gross domestic product — the total output of goods and services — increased at a 1.4% annual rate in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department reported Friday, down from 4.4% in the July-September quarter and 3.8% in the quarter before that.
108,435
Employers laid off 108,435 people last month, the highest January number since 2009, according to a new report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas. At the same time, hiring intentions haven’t been lower since then.
37%
A new Quinnipiac poll finds just 37% of voters approve of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president, while 56% disapprove. On Trump’s handling of the economy, just 39% of voters approve, while 56% disapprove. On Trump’s handling of immigration issues, just 38% of voters approve, while 59% disapprove.
84.5
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® fell by 9.7 points in January to 84.5 (1985=100), from an upwardly revised 94.2 in December. A 5.1-point upward revision to December’s reading of the Index resulted in a slight increase last month, reversing the initially reported decline. However, January’s preliminary results showed confidence resumed declining after a one-month uptick. The Present Situation Index—based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions—dropped by 9.9 points to 113.7 in January. The Expectations Index—based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions—fell by 9.5 points to 65.1, well below the threshold of 80 that usually signals a recession ahead. The cutoff for preliminary results was January 16, 2026.
37%
A new CBS News/YouGov poll finds more than 61% of people say President Trump is making prices and inflation sound far more rosy than they actually are, with a further 45% saying they expect his policies to leave them financially worse off in 2026. Trump’s overall approval on the economy is just 37%.
