The primary American stock index Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above the 50,000-point mark again on Thursday, 14 May. It gained 0.75 points for the day, and is up 3.47 per cent year-to-date, as of the time of last market close.

The index first hit 50,000 points for the end of a trading day on 6 February. However, unfavourable wholesale inflation and jobs data sent the market on a slide not much later. In the midst of the oil crisis brought on by the US–Israeli strikes on Iran and the consequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the Dow went as low as 45,166 on 27 March, before going on its recent recovery arc.

The more inclusive S&P 500 index, which consists of 500 big-cap companies as opposed to the Dow Jones’s 30, has posted even higher gains for the year thus far. It is up 9.37 per cert YTD.

The major American stock indices have performed well despite the fact that the Iran crisis is still ongoing.

The Strait of Hormuz, a crucial chokepoint for global crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) maritme transport, still remains closed by the IRGC regime, pushing crude oil prices high on the commodities markets.

On the morning of 15 May, Budapest time, crude oil prices rose again. Futures contracts for a barrel of American-produced WTI crude oil are now trading at around $105. For the British-produced Brent crude, they are trading around $109; while for the UEA-produced Murban crude, they are at around $108.

However, this time it was thankfully not due to further military escalation in the Middle East, rather, due to US President Donald Trump’s announcement after meeting with President Xi Jinping of China, according to which China has agreed to purchase American crude oil. This has not yet been publicly confirmed by the Chinese side of the supposed agreement.

This brings us to a broader point: while the American economy is certainly taking damage from the elevated gasoline prices, which provide upward inflationary pressure, the Iran crises also had some silver linings for the United States. Crude oil exports by the USA hit record levels in April: the country sold around 5.2 million barrels of crude oil to foreign nations, as CNBC reports.

As of 15 May, the average price of a gallon of gasoline stands at $4.528 in the US, according to AAA’s numbers. This is getting dangerously close to the $5.016 all-time record set under President Joe Biden in June 2022, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In pre-market trading, many of the major US stocks—such as NVDIA, Amazon, and Apple—have seen some losses as crude oil prices climbed further.

President Trump should be wary of an electorate that may not be forgiving about the high gas prices, despite the good stock market performance. As a testament to that, the Democrats have expanded their lead in the RealClearPolitics polling aggregate for the 2026 generic ballot to the highest since President Trump returned to office. They are currently leading the GOP by 6.6 points.

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