National Average Diesel Price Per Gallon: $3.31
President Trump has urged OPEC producers to ramp up oil production. The goal? To prevent more price rises at the pump ahead of the mid-term elections in November.
OPEC producers were initially thought to be reluctant to respond to the pressure from the Trump administration. But now, Saudi Arabia is expected to put additional oil into circulation over the next couple of months.
Despite this, some analysts think prices of $100 per barrel are all but inevitable. “We are moving into a world where you have lower inventories, lower spare capacity and less protection for buyers,” said John Driscoll, chief strategist at JTD Energy Services.
Framing lumber: $405
Panels/plywood: $467
Framing lumber prices plummeted further. However, the low prices drummed up more interest from buyers than seen in previous weeks.
Structural panel prices fell as the market slowed. Producers eager to sell their products before the end of the quarter lowered quotes accordingly.
Shares of many big-name retailers are down between 3% and 5%. The reason? Markets traders are worried that firms are close to having to raise wages.
The drop in share prices comes after Amazon announced it will raise the minimum wage for its own workers to $15 per hour.
Costo, which offers a minimum wage of $14, is the only other retailer that offers pay close to that of Amazon. Big retailers such as Dollar General, Lowe’s Home Improvement, Walmart, and Target all offer minimum wages of between $8 and $12 per hour.