Futures are off moderately following Friday’s bounce from the Supreme Court’s ruling that the bulk of Trump’s tariffs are illegal.  The benefits which might have ensued from tariffs being rolled back, however, were almost immediately negated by Trump’s insistence that alternatives to the current tariff regime would be implemented. It’s yet another chapter in the year-long tariff chaos that has pushed inflation higher and injected unwanted uncertainty into business and geopolitical dealings.

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VX is still broken out, but has yet to top last week’s highs.

The USD is still consolidating against both the euro and the yen…

…while oil and gas continue their stealth breakouts thanks to the credible threat of a shooting war with oil producer Iran.

It remains to be seen whether a wag-the-dog exercise in the Middle East is even necessary any more, as the tariff turmoil has kicked the Epstein matter off the front page for the time being.

Meanwhile, the strong recent PCE data drove Fed governor Waller to ponder whether a rate hike might be in order in March.