August 2026 in Figures
September 6, 2026
The back-and-forth developments from the war between Iran on the one hand and the United States and Israel on the other chugged on without resolution during August. The bottom line from an economic standpoint is that the price of oil climbed 6.5% on top of a July increase of more than 20%, ending up around 64% above the 2026 low in the case of West Texas Intermediate crude. Except for MAGA devotees, who represent about 11% of the U.S. population and only around 0.5% of the world population, it’s very hard to put a positive spin on the rise in global inflation juxtaposed against the two elusive war objectives (regime change and a permanent end to Iran’s nuclear weapons program), a depletion of U.S. miliary weapons, and a souring image of America’s ability, let alone will, as defender of democracies around the world.
August epitomizes the dog days of summer and is accordingly a month with atypically few scheduled reviews of monetary policies. The ratio of interest rate hikes to cuts tilted increasing in the direction of greater restraint. Central bank interest rates were increased by 50 basis points in Moldova and 25 bps in South Korea, Hungary, Iceland, the Czech Republic, and the Philippines. A 25-basis point cut in the Brazilian Selic rate was the outlier, while none of the five authorities in our featured table below experienced a rate change. That didn’t stop long-term interest rates, which march to the beat of market-driven forces, from rising last month in every country featured in the table below.
The dollar depreciated in August but merely very gradually. The exception to that broadly based pattern involved the Japanese yen, which then recouped significant ground in the first few sessions of September.
The AI investment frenzy continued to insulate stock markets from geopolitical developments. Share prices in most countries experienced gains, including a near-5% jump in the tech-laden U.S. Nasdaq index.
In an ironic “heads I win, tails you lose” twist, the biggest financial market winner of August proved to be crypto. Much of the Trump clan’s financial success in 2025 was reportedly earned in digital currency investments. The president’s image as a political winner and competent handler of many different situations has suffered within the United States and even much more so abroad since the outbreak of the war, but his financial empire keeps chugging upward.
| 10-Yr Yield | 8/31/26 | 7/31/26 | Change in Aug |
| U.S. | 4.75% | 4.72% | +3 basis points |
| Germany | 3.30% | 3.20% | +10 |
| Japan | 2.91% | 2.77% | +14 |
| U.K. | 5.06% | 5.05% | +1 |
| Canada | 3.74% | 3.66% | +8 |
| Switzerland | 0.40% | 0.34% | +6 |
| CB Policy Rate | 8/31/26 | 7/31/26 | Aug Change |
| Fed funds target | 3.50/3.75% | 3.50/3.75% | 0 basis pts |
| ECB deposit rate | 2.25% | 2.25% | 0 |
| BOJ policy rate | +1.00% | 1.00% | 0 |
| BOE Bank Rate | 3.75% | 3.75% | 0 |
| Swiss Policy Rate | 0.0% | 0.00% | 0 |
| FX | 8/31/26 | 7/31/26 | Change in $ |
| EUR/USD | 1.1592 | 1.1529 | -0.5% |
| USD/JPY | 160.19 | 159.08 | +0.7% |
| USD/CHF | 0.8083 | 0.8085 | -0.0% |
| GBP/USD | 1.3616 | 1.3475 | -1.0% |
| AUD/USD | 0.7156 | 0.7035 | -1.7% |
| NZD/USD | 0.5893 | 0.5890 | -0.1% |
| USD/CAD | 1.3895 | 1.4017 | -0.9% |
| USD/CNY | 6.7226 | 6.7515 | -0.4% |
| Equities | 8/31/26 | 7/31/26 | August Chg |
| S&P 500 | 7736 | 7510 | +3.0% |
| Nasdaq | 26371 | 25158 | +4.8% |
| Djia | 53206 | 52485 | +1.4% |
| Dax | 26358 | 25629 | +2.8% |
| Nikkei | 66361 | 64362 | +3.1% |
| Ftse | 10824 | 10868 | -0.4% |
| Canada TSE | 36291 | 35341 | +2.7% |
| Swiss SMI | 14286 | 14346 | -0.4% |
| Commodities | 8/31/26 | 7/31/26 | Change in Aug |
| Oil, $ per barrel | 90.20 | 84.67 | +6.5% |
| Gold, $ per ounce
Bitcoin, $ |
4365.8
77,268 |
4107
62,904 |
+6.3%
+22.8% |
Copyright Larry Greenberg 2026. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.
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