A busy week lies ahead on the US economic calendar as markets continue to reel from the war in the Middle East and global fuel shortages.
Crypto markets are back in the red this Monday morning in Asia as fear, uncertainty, and doubt return to the space.
Additionally, US stock market futures have fallen at the open as markets react to President Trump’s “48-hour deadline” for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz.
The week ahead includes key inflation and labor market data releases, and there is now discussion of potential interest rate increases amid the threat of higher inflation stemming from the oil crisis and fuel shortages.
WTI crude had fallen back below $100 at the time of writing, but Brent crude was still around $112 per barrel.
Economic Events March 23 to 27
The purchasing managers’ survey (PMI) for March is out on Wednesday, providing a key gauge of how the ongoing war has impacted sentiment and business activity.
“This is significant because it’s one of the first economic indicators we’ll get that cover the period since the conflict began,” Deutsche Bank economists said in a note, according to the WSJ.
Thursday will see the initial jobless claims report, a key indicator of labor market health and one of the Federal Reserve’s two primary mandates for policy decisions.
“Hence why we still feel the Fed is more likely to cut than hike rates,” ING economist James Knightley wrote in a note.
Friday brings the March MI Consumer Sentiment and Inflation Expectations reports, which shed more light on general economic conditions.
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Key Events This Week:
1. Markets React to Trump’s “48 Hour Warning” to Iran – Today 6 PM ET
2. March S&P Global Services PMI data – Tuesday
3. US Crude Oil Inventory data – Wednesday
4. Initial Jobless Claims data – Thursday
5. March MI Consumer Sentiment data – Friday
6.…
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) March 22, 2026
Consumers are likely to be hit the hardest by rising oil prices, Ryan Sweet, chief global economist at Oxford Economics, told CBS News over the weekend.
“To kind of put it into context, every penny increase in gasoline prices reduces consumer spending by one and a half billion dollars over the course of a year,” he said.
Inflationary pressures and tightening wallets are generally bearish for high-risk assets such as crypto.
Crypto Markets Retreat
This can be seen in the ongoing bear market, with most digital assets wiping out gains from last week’s rally over the weekend.
Total capitalization is down 1.3% on the day to $2.42 trillion at the time of writing during Monday morning trading in Asia.
Bitcoin fell back below $68,000 on Sunday but had recovered to just above it by Monday morning. However, increasing economic pressure is likely to send it further downwards.
Ether prices are equally weak, with the asset falling to $2,033 before a minor recovery. ETH is unlikely to remain above $2,000 this week.
The altcoins are all in the red again, with larger losses for XRP, Cardano, Hyperliquid, and Stellar.
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