Brent crude futures tumbled below the $80-per-barrel level earlier this morning for the first time since March as traders priced in the U.S.-Iran peace deal and the expected reopening of the Strait of Hormuz maritime chokepoint on Friday. Goldman Sachs and RBC Capital Markets both slashed their fourth-quarter Brent crude forecasts, reinforcing the view that the war-risk premium is rapidly deflating.
If oil has peaked, then inflation pressures may have peaked as well, a positive setup that could provide some tailwinds for consumers this summer through lower fuel costs.
Piper Sandler Chief Global Economist Nancy Lazar told clients, "If inflation has indeed peaked, that will boost real incomes (nominal incomes have been solid), a positive for both real consumer spending and housing, but don't expect robust growth in either."
On Monday, GasBuddy data showed the national average for gasoline slipped below the politically sensitive $4-per-gallon level for the first time in months.
We have outlined in countless notes (read here, here, here, and here) that gas prices above $4 forced consumers to trade down across retailers and, in some cases, to pull back on discretionary purchases altogether.
Pump prices are set to tumble further...
Now that energy prices are moving lower, consumer sentiment is likely to improve. UBS analyst Mark Paski told clients about "early signs of a turn in U.S. consumer discretionary."
Paski explained:
Fairly quiet day across the US consumer, despite the move lower in crude oil and rates following headlines over the weekend.
...
The risk/reward in consumer discretionary is beginning to shift from the doldrums seen as recently as two weeks ago. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) versus front-month crude oil (CL1) suggests there is still further upside to the discretionary trade, given crude's move lower this morning. Lower yields should also provide incremental support.
Consumer staples were the second-best performing sector last week (behind materials), and I would expect some residual relief today—particularly within the household and personal care space.
Chart: SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT)
That said, the CPI for energy is on track to slide for June. But consumers are not out of the woods yet. Months of elevated energy prices have already offset the rapidly fading tailwinds from tax cuts. And not to be the bearer of bad news, but one lagged effect of the energy shock could still show up on supermarket shelves later this year.
Professional subscribers can read more on consumers at our new Marketdesk.ai portal.
Tyler Durden Wed, 06/17/2026 - 12:25Snap's new $2,195 augmented-reality glasses are being viewed by Wall Street analysts less as a mass-market consumer device and more as a developer kit, given the expensive price point.
We suspect Snap's new AR glasses are unlikely to compete with the Meta glasses in terms of mass adoption, as Meta's are half the cost, if not cheaper.
Evan Spiegel showing off the new Specs AR glasses to the public for the first time. pic.twitter.com/pCYBLU9xxH
— Nathie @ AWE (@NathieVR) June 16, 2026"Earlier today, Evan Spiegel hosted a keynote presentation regarding the Fall '26 SPECS product release; while not entirely unsurprising, premium price point ($2,195) implies product built for 'early adopters', disappointing after a 10yr dev cycle," Wells Fargo tech analyst Alec Brondolo wrote in a note.
Brondolo's first take on the new AR glasses:
In a separate note, Citizens analyst Andrew Boone said Snap's new glasses told clients, "Appears bulky and more akin to Apple's Vision Pro glasses than Meta's Meta Ray-Ban Display from a fashion perspective."
Boone described the new glasses as "more of a developer kit than a consumer product, as it is priced at $2,195."
B. Riley Securities analyst Naved Khan said, "While initial adoption is likely to be limited by the relatively high unit price ($2,195), we expect management will use the launch to further improve the product, with successive models becoming more affordable."
Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Mandeep Singh noted, "Snap's further expansion into hardware with new AR glasses priced at around $2,195 is unlikely to match adoption of Meta's Ray-Ban AR glasses," adding, "The latter's lower price point and proprietary large language model give it an advantage for deploying image generation and voice integration features, while Snap is likely to struggle to create an app ecosystem and agentic functionality."
Snap's release of its new AR glasses comes as Apple pushes deeper into smart glasses following the Vision Pro's failed launch. We have remained adamant that Meta is winning this race, with Ray-Ban smart glasses emerging as the clearest early consumer winner because of their price point. We have also explored the supply chain behind Meta's Ray-Ban glasses, which readers can revisit here.
Tyler Durden Wed, 06/17/2026 - 11:45