Daily Rundown

March 6, 2026

Chart of the Day

Number of the Day

10.8 - The percentage increase in the average unleaded gasoline price between March 1 and March 5, the largest four-day rise since the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005

Quote of the Day

"Gas prices, obviously, if they're up, that is inflationary. Textbook monetary policy would have you look through a short-term shock, but you don't look through a long-term shock. I think that's a lot of the assessment people are going to have to make." - Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin

Thursday's Highlights

Initial unemployment claims (week of 2/22) were unchanged at 213,000.

Productivity (Q4) rose by a solid 2.8 percent, as output moved higher and hours worked fell.

Import prices (January) increased by 0.2 percent on the month and were down by 0.1 percent year-over-year.

Core import prices (January) increased by 0.4 percent on the month and 1.3 percent year-over-year.

Quick Commentary

The pickup in productivity growth this decade is the most bullish long-term structural development for the economy, as it suggests both stronger growth and lower inflation on balance in the years ahead. The near-term cyclical backdrop had been improving, as well, but the nascent surge in gas prices is a developing risk at a time in which the longstanding resilience in consumer spending is already beginning to waver.

Today's Highlights

Employment

Retail sales

Consumer credit

Business inventories

Daily Trivia

What New York City landmark temporarily ran in reverse in early 2000 after more than a decade of ticking rapidly higher?

(Thursday's Question: By market cap, what is the largest company in the U.S. that is named for a currently living person? Answer: Lam Research)