Brent crude was at $126.55 a barrel in the US Energy Information Administration's spot series on 14 October, up 100.9% from a year earlier1. US steel and truckload prices are at 12-month highs, diesel is 71.2% dearer than a year ago, and the rupee is 8.00% weaker than in October 20252, 4, 5, 6.

SeriesLatestAs ofChange
Brent crude, US$ a barrel126.5514 Oct 2026up 4.4% in a month
US on-highway diesel, US$ a gallon6.27619 Oct 2026up 1.6% in a week
Henry Hub gas, US$ per million Btu3.2214 Oct 2026up 13% in a month
Copper, US$ a tonne13543July 2026down 0.1% in a month
Aluminium, US$ a tonne3158July 2026down 8.2% in a month
Iron ore, US$ a dry tonne101.6July 2026down 2.1% in a month
US steel PPI, 1982 = 100383.3September 2026up 1.5% in a month
US truckload PPI, Dec 2003 = 100219.4September 2026up 4.6% in a month
US freight services index, 2000 = 100135.7July 2026down 0.7% in a month
US dollar in rupees94.762021 Oct 2026rupee up 0.83% in a month
US dollar in yuan6.67820 Oct 2026down 0.2% in a week
Euro in dollars1.122721 Oct 2026down 1.93% in a month

Monthly series lag; the table shows each period. Sources: EIA, IMF, US BLS, US BTS, ECB and Trading Economics1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, 4, 5, 11, 12, 6, 13.

Energy: crude, diesel and gas

Brent rose 4.4% in a month and is up 106.3% since January1. Front-month futures fell $1.11 to $108.44 a barrel on 20 October after touching $111.99, a five-month high, Reuters reported14. Futures and spot are different benchmarks1, 14.

Traders weighed Houthi claims of attacks on Saudi energy sites and reports of vessel attacks in the Gulf14.

US diesel was $6.276 a gallon on 19 October, up 9.7 cents or 1.6% in a week2, 15. It is about 25 cents below the record $6.52915. The International Energy Agency expects the market to stay tight into 2027. It said net global supply of diesel and gasoil has fallen by about 1.7 million barrels per day3.

Henry Hub gas was $3.22 per million Btu on 14 October, up 13% in a month7.

Steel and metals

US steel producer prices rose 1.5% in September to 383.3, a 12-month high and 20.7% above September 20254. The IMF's metals averages are for July8. Copper was $13543 a tonne, down 0.1% on June but up 38.6% year on year8. Aluminium was $3158, down 8.2% on June but up 21.2% year on year9. Iron ore was $101.6 a dry tonne, down 2.1% on June and up 0.4% from a year earlier10.

Freight: trucks tight, activity soft

US truckload producer prices rose 4.6% in September to 219.4, a 12-month high and 17.9% above September 20255. A TD Cowen and AFS Logistics report projected that fourth-quarter truckload rates would be the highest since early 2022, citing fuel prices, capacity constraints and peak fees16.

FreightWaves said carriers declined near 13.9% of loads17. It said dry van spot rates were up 43% from a year earlier, with capacity rather than demand driving the market17.

The BTS freight services index, an activity measure, eased 0.7% in July to 135.711.

Currency: rupee recovers, dollar softer

The dollar traded at 94.7620 rupees on 21 October6. The rupee has strengthened 0.83% in a month but is down 8.00% over 12 months6.

RBI moves to attract dollar inflows have eased bank funding, Mint reported. ICICI Bank alone mobilised about $18 billion in foreign-currency non-resident deposits18.

The dollar was at 6.678 yuan on 20 October, its lowest in 52 weeks12. The euro fell to $1.1227 on 21 October, 1.93% weaker than a month earlier13.

What to watch

Oxford Economics said November is the last realistic window for a retail fuel price increase in India before state election campaigning intensifies19. It said that could lift retail inflation to 6.2% in the October-December quarter19. It said RBI measures should contain rupee volatility, but lasting stability is unlikely while oil prices and external financing pressures stay high19.