Better Week in Review
Oil, inflation, saving, & more
This holiday-shortened week was a quieter one for economic data releases, but we still got updates on inflation, spending, saving, home prices, a potential deal with Iran, and more.
Monday
Memorial Day
Check out our piece on Memorial Day cookout prices, if you missed it.
Tuesday
Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index
U.S. consumer confidence fell slightly in May, as a poorer view of the current situation was slightly offset by an improvement in forward looking (six months ahead) expectations. Two-thirds of consumers say they’re cutting back on spending due to rising prices.
S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Home Price Index
Nationwide home prices were up just 0.7% for the year ending in March 2026. That’s a very modest increase, and yet housing affordability remains a massive issue.
Oil Stuff
Oil prices plunged this week as the U.S. and Iran have “the makings of a deal.” We’re back below $90/barrel, and while that’s a big improvement, that’s still more than $20/barrel more expensive than in February.
And while ships have started moving toward the Strait of Hormuz, they haven’t really started moving through it.
Both gas and diesel prices fell slightly during the week ending May 25th, but don’t expect pump prices to plunge back toward pre-conflict levels. Why? Because of rocket and feather pricing dynamics: consumer prices blast off like a rocket when underlying wholesale prices increase, but they drift lower like a feather when those wholesale prices subside. This phenomenon is technically called asymmetric price transmission, for those interested in that kind of thing.
TSA Checkpoint Travel Numbers
Air travel this holiday weekend fell about 1% short of the 2025 Memorial Day peak. Optimistically, that’s not bad given soaring airfares. Pessimistically, you’d still prefer to see year-over-year growth.
