Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on the stories moving markets and the broader conversation.
President Trump made headlines this morning declaring, quote, I love the inflation, after the consumer price index hit a three-year high. Trump attributed rising prices to the ongoing conflict with Iran, suggesting costs would fall once hostilities end and pointing to what he described as millions of barrels of oil being taken out. Markets are watching closely for any coherent policy signal there.
On that note, the dollar softened modestly today after May consumer prices came in exactly as expected, easing fears of a fresh inflation surge. The dollar index slipped by thirteen hundredths of a percent, with traders reading the in-line print as reducing pressure on the Federal Reserve to tighten further. Stock weakness did limit dollar losses, as investors sought liquidity.
Meanwhile, the geopolitical backdrop remains tense. Trump pledged renewed and intensified strikes against Iran, saying the United States will be attacking them very hard, even as he had suggested earlier this week that a deal was within reach. That kind of contradictory signaling is precisely what keeps risk assets on edge and energy markets volatile.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
