There’s a Chinese tradition known as wufu, or the "five blessings," which symbolize good fortune in someone’s life: longevity, wealth, health, virtue, and a natural death. Perhaps Chinese President Xi Jinping can walk President Donald Trump through it while he’s in town. Trump enjoys at least three of those; the fourth is open to serious debate, and the fifth is TBC.
But the number five is feeling less like a sign of blessing than one of a curse for Trump right now. Early Thursday, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note touched 5.145 percent, its highest since 2007, extending the sharpest bond sell-off since the tariff shock of April 2025. That earlier rout pushed Trump to back off some of his most aggressive tariffs.
People, Trump explained, had been getting "yippy." But this time, the pressures are not his alone to switch off and reset the bond markets. Then there’s the prices businesses are charging, which feed into inflation for everyone. Producer prices climbed 5.4 percent in the 12 months to August, up from 4.8 percent in July.
Energy was behind more than three-quarters of August’s rise in goods prices. At the pump, regular gasoline now averages more than $5 a gallon in seven states: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. The overall national average is heading that way too, currently at $4.48 a gallon.
It could well top $5 again with renewed fighting in Iran, as Trump is mulling. Don’t even ask about diesel. That left $5 behind some time ago, now over $6.5 a gallon on average.
Taken together, these numbers reflect a squeeze, both financial and political. War-driven energy costs feed inflation. Heavy borrowing pushes up the price of money.
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