WTI Crude Oil Price Today: $87–$89 Per Barrel After Monday's $119 Spike — SPY and QQQ Bounce Back, Gas Hits $3.48 Nationally, Stagflation Warning Grows

The most violent week in oil markets since 2022 is producing a financial aftershock felt at every gas station in America. WTI crude oil — the U.S. benchmark — is trading in the $87–$89 range Wednesday morning after crashing from a Monday intraday high of $119.43. Stocks clawed back. Gas prices haven't. And Wall Street is increasingly using a word it avoided for two years: stagflation.

WTI Crude Oil Price Today: $87–$89 After the Crash

WTI crude oil futures are trading at $87.82 per barrel, down sharply from a previous close of $94.77. Today's session range ran from $84.45 to $91.44. The 52-week range spans from $54.98 to $119.43 — a spread that captures the full scope of this crisis in a single line.

Over the past 12 months, WTI has risen 36.14%. The next futures settlement date is March 20, 2026. Each contract represents 1,000 barrels — meaning Monday's $119 print cost or earned traders roughly $119,000 per contract before the crash.

WTI fell 6.68% in the 24 hours ending Tuesday night. The trigger was a combination of Energy Secretary Chris Wright's deleted social media post falsely claiming the Navy had escorted a tanker through the Strait of Hormuz — and Trump's remarks suggesting the Iran war was "pretty much" complete.

SPY and QQQ: Both Green Tuesday After Brutal Monday Open

U.S. equity markets staged a significant rally Tuesday as investors reacted to sharply declining energy prices and optimistic geopolitical signals. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 248.28 points, or 0.52%, to close at 47,989.08. The S&P 500 rose 27.12 points, or 0.40%, to end at 6,823.11. The Nasdaq surged 145.74 points, or 0.64%, to finish at 22,841.69.

SPY closed up 0.88% and QQQ gained 1.34% on Monday — both reversing steep intraday losses that had the S&P 500 down more than 1.5% at session lows. For the S&P 500, it was the first time the index recovered from a 1.5% intraday loss since April 2025.

Financials were the worst-performing sector both sessions as inflation fears reduced the probability of rate cuts in 2026. Technology held up best — QQQ's heavier tech weighting explains its outperformance over SPY in both sessions.

Gas Prices at the Pump: $3.48 National Average, GasBuddy Warns of $4

The national average price of gasoline reached $3.48 per gallon, according to AAA data. That number was $2.90 just weeks ago.

On March 9, national gasoline averages surged past $3.15 per gallon — a sharp 10% increase in a single week, driven by renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the disruption of Strait of Hormuz shipping lanes. The week that followed pushed prices higher still.

GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan warned that gas prices could surge past $4 amid the U.S.-Iran war. Shell and other major fuel retailers have not announced price freezes or caps. The price at the pump reflects crude's Monday spike with roughly a one-to-two-week lag at the refinery and distribution level — meaning even Tuesday's oil crash will take time to translate into relief at the station.

The Fed Meeting, the Dot Plot, and the Stagflation Alarm

The Federal Reserve concludes its two-day policy meeting Wednesday. While interest rates are widely expected to remain unchanged, markets are laser-focused on the dot plot and Chair Jerome Powell's press conference. Investors are searching for confirmation of at least two rate cuts later in 2026 — a projection that currently underpins much of the market's valuation.

Core PCE inflation is currently projected to reaccelerate toward 2.7% by year-end 2026. Universal tariffs implemented in 2025 have permanently raised the floor for durable goods prices, making it difficult for the consumer price index to return to the Fed's 2% target.

Veteran Wall Street strategist Ed Yardeni has updated his scenario probabilities: his base-case "Roaring 2020s" scenario holds at 60%, while his "Meltdown" scenario — which now explicitly includes a 1970s-style stagflation — has been raised from 20% to 35% for the remainder of 2026.

The University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index for early March has stagnated in the mid-50s — roughly 20% below levels seen just 14 months ago. Any hawkish shift in Powell's tone Wednesday could reverse Tuesday's equity gains in minutes.