Good afternoon and welcome to Markets Desk.
Crude oil is surging today, with West Texas Intermediate climbing nearly six percent to post a three-and-a-half-month high. Markets are pricing in sustained conflict risk between the US and Iran, pushing gasoline prices sharply higher as well, adding pressure to an already inflation-sensitive consumer environment.
Turning to the housing market, the thirty-year fixed mortgage rate has crossed seven percent for the first time in over a year, marking a fresh high for two thousand twenty six. That threshold carries real psychological weight for buyers, and with affordability already stretched thin, expect further softening in purchase applications and continued pressure on existing home sales volume.
And in private markets, The Boring Company, Elon Musk's tunneling venture, has closed a three billion dollar funding round, valuing the enterprise at twenty-three billion dollars. The raise underscores continued appetite among private investors for Musk-affiliated infrastructure plays, particularly as the company deepens its operational ties with Tesla on urban transit and logistics corridors.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
