Oil prices climbed after Iran said it would not hold direct talks with U.S. envoys, weighing on prospects for an interim ceasefire in the Middle East and prompting a fresh repricing of geopolitical risk. Brent futures rose 0.69% to $73.45 a barrel and WTI gained 0.91% to $70.13. U.S. inventory figures from the API showed crude stocks fell 6.1 million barrels last week and gasoline inventories also declined, adding support to prices. Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has also recovered to prewar levels, easing fears of supply disruption.

Cotton futures ended June higher, with contracts up 22 to 43 points even after the USDA put spring cotton plantings at 9.85 million acres, above trade ideas of 9.6 million and the March figure of 9.64 million. The July contract settled at 72.22 cents per pound. Crop Progress data showed 9% of fields setting bolls and conditions at 48% good/excellent, down 5 percentage points on the week, with Texas ratings falling 14 points. Crude oil slipped $0.82/bbl to $69.83 and the U.S. dollar index rose $0.118 to $100.995.

President Donald Trump warned gasoline retailers they could face “big problems” if they do not quickly lower pump prices, arguing crude oil has fallen to $68 a barrel. He urged stations to aim for around $2.50 a gallon and accused some operators of price gouging. The national average price for regular gasoline is $3.91 per gallon, down for a fifth straight week. Forecasts for 2026 average oil prices were lowered to $84.50 a barrel for Brent and $79.49 for WTI after a U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The article says the Strait of Hormuz has been closed, disrupting flows that include 20% of global oil and natural gas, 30% of seaborne fertilizer trade, 30% of helium supply and transport linked to 10% of aluminum production. It says gasoline has risen more than 50% to around $4.50 a gallon and diesel is up more than 60%, while fertilizer and helium shortages could lift food prices and disrupt semiconductor production. The piece adds that U.S. CPI has climbed to 3.8% and wholesale prices are up 6%, with markets expecting the Federal Reserve may raise rates by year’s end.

Women are more likely than men to rely on Social Security for retirement income, but they receive about $4,800 less per year on average, according to research from the AARP Public Policy Institute. The report points to lower earnings and more time spent out of the workforce for caregiving as key drivers of the gap. Financial advisors say the disparity makes the timing and coordination of benefit-claiming decisions especially consequential for women.

DeFi suffered 88 hacks with known dollar amounts in Q2 2026, with total losses of $780.3 million through June 30. April accounted for $644.8 million, while May and June added a combined $135.4 million across dozens of incidents. Bridge-related hacks were tagged at $353.4 million, and DeFi protocol-targeted entries made up $735.8 million of the quarter’s total, according to DeFiLlama’s hacks tracker. The data suggest exploit pressure has shifted from isolated events to ongoing strain across multi-chain infrastructure such as bridges, oracles, frontends, signing systems, and contract logic.

A Ripple executive said a proposed XRP Ledger credit facility has moved into the network voting process, aiming to enable on-chain lending for digital asset holders and businesses seeking faster financing. The feature would only be deployed if nodes approve it through a vote. RLUSD is also expanding via new settlement support across eight chains and additional integrations and listings, while XRP network activity has risen over the past two weeks even as large holders continue moving tokens to exchanges. Separately, technical analysis cited a TD Sequential daily buy signal and flagged $1.06 as a key support level.

Jefferies warned that cryptocurrency market volatility could worsen in the second half of the year as the U.S. “Clarity Act” stalls in Congress. The brokerage said the probability of the bill passing by year-end has fallen to 48% from 70% in mid-May, as lawmakers head into the summer recess and political uncertainty builds ahead of November’s midterm elections. The legislation would clarify when digital assets are regulated as securities, and a delay would prolong regulatory uncertainty that could amplify swings in Bitcoin.