Coffee With Greta: Oil Prices Jump, Stocks Slump
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DJIA Futures: -226 (-0.7%)
SPX Futures: -28 (-0.7%)
NASDAQ Futures: -51 (-0.4%)
Good morning friends!
Futures are falling as oil prices pop after the EU agreed to ban most Russian oil imports.
Let’s get right to it!
Oil Prices Soar On EU’s Russian Import Ban
Oil prices are jumping today after EU leaders reached an agreement to ban 90% of Russian crude imports by the end of the year.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures are up more than 3%, topping $118/bbl.
Brent crude futures are up 1.5% to over $123 bbl.
The European Council president said the sanctions package will immediately ban 75% of Russian oil imports.
By the end of the year, 90% of current imports will be stopped.
The move puts more pressure on global supply levels as more than a third of the EU’s oil imports come from Russia.
Oil stocks are rising after the decision with Exxon Mobil (XOM) up 1.2% and Chevron (CVX) trading 0.9% higher ahead of the open.
U.S. Gas Prices Hit Fresh Record
U.S. gas prices are back on a record-breaking climb after taking a breather on Friday.
The national average for a gallon of regular gas hit a new record every day over the holiday weekend and did so again today.
AAA shows that price jumped to $4.622/gal overnight.
That’s up from $4.598/gal a week ago and $4.178/gal one month ago.
Eurozone Inflation Hits Record-High
Consumer prices are soaring in Europe.
New data shows inflation came in at a record-high 8.1% in May, up from 7.4% in April and higher than 7.4% expected.
It’s the seventh straight month inflation pressures have hit a new record high in Europe.
German inflation soared to 8.7%, while French inflation hit a record 5.8%, and inflation in Spain soared to 8.5%.
The jump comes as energy prices have soared due to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Energy prices surged 39.2% year-over-year in May while prices for food, alcohol, and tobacco jumped 7.5%.
Excluding food and energy prices, the Eurozone’s core inflation rate rose to 3.8% in May.
President Biden, Fed Chair Meet About Inflation
President Biden is set to meet with Fed Chair Jerome Powell today about inflation pressures in the U.S. economy.
A White House official said Biden will also congratulate Powell on being confirmed to another term as Fed Chair.
The official said they will discuss the “state of the American and global economy and discuss the president’s top economic priority: addressing inflation to transition from an historic economic recovery to stable, steady growth that works for working families.”
Fed Governor Christopher Waller said in a lecture over the weekend that he is prepared to take rates past neutral to fight inflation.
He also said he believes the bank can continue raising rates without causing a recession.
AMC Pops As Top Gun: Maverick Breaks Box Office Record
AMC Entertainment (AMC) shares are rallying 12% in premarket trade after Top Gun: Maverick set a new Memorial Day opening 4-day record.
The film raked in $156 million in U.S. ticket sales between Friday and Monday.
That topped the previous record of $153 million set 15-years ago by Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.
Many theater-goers over the weekend were in AMC Theaters.
The company said more than 5 million people visited its theaters globally over the weekend.
That’s nearly double the 2.6 million attendance over Memorial Day weekend 2021.
Imax (IMAX) stock is up 1.2% ahead of the open after the company said the new Top Gun move was its best global four-day Memorial Day weekend opening ever.
Consumer Confidence Expected To Fall
The Conference Board releases its consumer confidence index for May at 10:00 a.m. ET.
That survey is expected to show confidence slipped more than three points this month to 103.9.
This comes after consumer sentiment tumbled to a more than 10-year low in May.
U.S. consumers have been rocked by skyrocketing inflation pressures as the economy emerges out of the pandemic.