Main Street Independent

Brent crude tops $105 amid reports of more US strikes on Iran

Illustration accompanying article: Brent crude tops $105 amid reports of more US strikes on Iran
  • The price of Brent crude oil rose more than 5% on Thursday morning to $105 per barrel, with West Texas Intermediate above $92 per barrel.
  • The White House told The Hill the United States is "in a very strong position with control of the Strait of Hormuz and the Iranian economy collapsing," and that "all options" remain available for further strikes on Iran.
  • Only seven tankers transited the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, less than half the prior seven-day average and the slowest day of oil transport through the waterway since July 23.
  • Iran struck 10 oil tankers during the week of Sept. 28 to Oct. 4, the most recorded in a single week during the war, according to UPI.
 2026-10-08 · 3 MIN READ

New York Fed study ties 2.9-point inflation rise to Trump tariffs

Illustration accompanying article: New York Fed study ties 2.9-point inflation rise to Trump tariffs
  • A New York Federal Reserve study found that President Donald Trump's tariffs raised consumer prices by about 2.9 percentage points through February, based on a sample of 67 consumer-goods categories.
  • The New York Fed researchers estimated that without tariffs imposed in the past two years, prices in the sampled categories would have been about 1% lower.
  • About a third of the tariff-driven inflationary effects appeared in goods made in the United States — not just imports — the study found.
  • Study authors Mary Amiti, Sebastian Heise and David Weinstein wrote that the full effect of a tariff takes about a year to appear in consumer prices.
  • The study was released weeks before the November 3 midterm elections and after the U.S. Supreme Court's 6-3 February 20 ruling that many of the tariffs were unlawful.
 2026-10-08 · 3 MIN READ
Illustration accompanying article: Eritrean forces cross into Tigray, drawing Ethiopian drone strikes