The rate of inflation peaked in 2022, shortly after crude oil peaked. Thankfully, this latest spike in crude oil DID NOT produce a ripple effect for higher inflation in all other goods/services within the CPI basket (headline CPI ex-energy at the lowest levels since March 2021). But the key thing is the trend for crude oil... All I see is lower highs. Crude oil below $80/barrel will squash all inflation fears and also price-out the magnitude of rate hike expectations. Below $70 will increase the validity for rate cuts. If the stock market didn't crash during this spike, based on the fundamental & geopolitical risks that caused this supply shock, that's the sign of a strong market. Lower crude prices as a result of less geopolitical risk, all else being equal, will strengthen the economy. The latest Atlanta Fed GDPNow forecast is +5.0% growth for Q3'26 (annualized). The beauty of this chart is the duality of it... The spike in crude couldn't derail the market. A decline in crude could fuel the market higher. Win/win.