Devil's Rate Week in Review

Oil prices, borrowing costs, & more

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This week’s 100% human-written review covers a Fed interest rate decision, bond market turbulence, scary mortgage rate data, and a lot more.

Be sure to submit any questions you have for our upcoming Q&A.

Monday

Durable Goods Orders

New orders for durable goods (things that typically last at least 3 years) increased 0.3% in June after falling 4.0% in May. That has a lot do with the very volatile transportation category, though, and durables excluding transportation remain in pretty good shape.

TSA Checkpoint Travel Numbers

Air travel fell even further behind year-ago levels this past week, according to TSA gate check numbers data. Fair to officially declare this a disappointing summer travel season.

Tuesday

Oil Stuff

The oil market remains choppy, with futures prices climbing back above $90/barrel this morning after spending most of the week in the mid-$80s.

No surprise: gas and diesel prices rose a lot over the past week.

Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index

This measure of consumer sentiment worsened in July and has been on a downward trajectory since 2021. The breakdown by generation continues to be the most interesting part of this survey.

Wednesday

Fed Interest Rate Decision & Treasury Market Reaction