U.S. crude prices continued to fall Wednesday, settling below $70 per barrel for the first time since early July and at their lowest levels since June. That’s good news for the Federal Reserve in its battle against inflation. While the impact on oil and natural gas stocks has not been as cheery, companies across many other industries stand to gain. At session lows, West Texas Intermediate crude dropped more than 4% Wednesday afternoon to just over $69 a barrel. The U.S. oil benchmark has been drifting lower since late September when WTI settled at its highest levels of the year — at nearly $94 per barrel. Energy , meanwhile, has been the only sector in the S & P 500 in the red since the fourth quarter began Oct. 1 — down about 10.7% compared with the broad market index’s 6% advance. Our only remaining oil and nat gas holding, Coterra Energy (CTRA), has also struggled — losing more than 8% quarter to date, including Wednesday’s more than 2% drop. However, more than two-thirds of our stock portfolio has been higher so far in the fourth quarter. “Oil is the key to this market. If it doesn’t hold $70, I don’t know where the thing goes,” Jim Cramer said earlier Wednesday. “But, boy, is it going the way of the Fed.” In its effort to cool inflation, the central bank has been tightening monetary policy since late 2021 and began aggressively raising interest rates in March 2022. Since then, the fed funds overnight bank lending rate has risen from near-zero to the current range between 5.25% and 5.5%. In early 2023, lower year-over-year oil prices helped slow the rate of consumer inflation, which reached its Covid-era peak at 9.1% in June 2022 . But, as oil climbed higher in the summer and into late September, concerns mounted that crude was once again becoming a thorn in the Fed’s side. With recent data pointing to cooling inflation, including falling energy prices, the market is trying to decide if the Fed’s rate-hiking cycle is done. The odds favor a rate cut as early as the Fed’s policy meeting in March, according to the CME FedWatch tool . @CL.1 YTD mountain The year-to-date performance of West Texas Intermediate crude futures. Oil impacts inflation data in more than just the gasoline prices paid by consumers at the pump. It also figures into corporate transportation and freight costs. If those input costs stay consistently higher, companies may choose to raise prices on the goods they’re making and shipping to protect profit margins. That will eventually show up in inflation readings — and, in theory, require the Fed to keep making policy decisions designed to slow the U.S. economy. The other side of the coin is that lower oil prices can be a boon to both consumers and companies, including those in Jim’s Charitable Trust, the portfolio we use for the Club. The less money people need to spend to fill up their gas tanks, the more cash they have available to spend on other goods and services — a positive for the economy. Similarly, lower fuel costs can help cushion companies’ profit margins — a positive for their investors and the stock market, more broadly. To be sure, falling crude prices can be worrisome if the decline is tied to a dramatic slowdown in economic activity. In a recession, demand would weaken for not just oil, but many other products sold by companies, too. The current picture on this point is not exactly black and white. For starters, oil production in the U.S. has been hovering around record levels , leading to a robust supply landscape even after oil cartel OPEC+’s latest production-reduction effort in an attempt to shore up prices. There are some fears about demand in China, the world’s second-largest economy. Economic activity in the U.S. also is slowing, but so far not in a manner that is troubling or suggests a severe recession is around the corner. To date, consumer spending and employment data have remained relatively resilient, while inflation is gradually cooling and oil prices are retreating. It’s possible upcoming economic reports could begin to scramble this picture — starting with Friday’s November jobs report — and eventually prompt us to read the oil market differently. At this point, the weakness in crude prices is a win for the Fed and large swaths of the Club’s portfolio, particularly a company like Amazon (AMZN) that benefits when consumers have more money to spend on its online marketplace and when its costs to deliver those products come down. It’s also led investors to sell Coterra Energy’s stock. Lower oil prices will hinder Coterra’s free cash flow , which the company returns to shareholders through stock buybacks and dividend payouts. Those are key reasons investors, including us, own the stock. We’re hardly panicking, though. In fact, we used Wednesday’s declines to add to our position in Coterra , which now holds a roughly 2% weighting in our portfolio. The fact that Coterra has fallen out of favor is precisely why we want to buy. Coterra, which has significant oil and natural gas exposure, can make plenty of money at current commodity prices. Plus, the company has done a commendable job managing its expenses this year — and encouragingly, expects to see service cost deflation in 2024. In other words, Coterra is controlling what it can. The price of oil is not one of those things. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long CTRA and AMZN. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
An oil rig in front of a sunset
Andrey Rudakov | Bloomberg | Getty Images
U.S. crude prices continued to fall Wednesday, settling below $70 per barrel for the first time since early July and at their lowest levels since June. That’s good news for the Federal Reserve in its battle against inflation. While the impact on oil and natural gas stocks has not been as cheery, companies across many other industries stand to gain.
Founded in 1689, Husqvarna was a musket maker for the king of Sweden – but now, the company best known for quirky motorcycles and commercial riding mowers is becoming an innovator in the field of robotics, and its latest fleet of electric autonomous mowers are eager to get grazing.
Husqvarna’s autonomous lawnmowers made history earlier this year at the AIG Women’s Open, when they became the first autonomous groundskeeping solution to see duty during a UK Major golf week.
“At the AIG Women’s Open, the Husqvarna portfolio is helping us deliver this goal through improved resource management, regular lightweight mowing and reduced carbon usage,” explains Royal Porthcawl’s Course Manager, Ian Kinley, who has championed the use of robotic technology at the course. “With the AIG Women’s Open set to be the largest-ever women’s sporting event in Wales, we know there’s tremendous pressure to produce playing surfaces that are worthy of such a high-profile event.”
Events like the AIG Women’s Open are proving that the little robot Huskies can get the job done quietly, sustainably, and with significantly less operator input. As such, you’d think everyone at Husqvarna would be excited about them.
You’d be wrong. The company’s franchise dealers have been hesitant to push them forward, effectively putting the parent company in the position of going B2C, or going home.
“Dealers live and breathe the previous technology,” said Yvette Henshall-Bell, Husqvarna’s President of its Forest and Garden division for Europe, in that same Forbes piece. “They want to protect that servicing, that aftermarket revenue. Whereas if they really thought about what the customer’s problems are and the job to be done, they would be looking at a completely different solution.”
A solution, frankly, that looks a lot like a little robot mower.
The bigger CEORA can handle up to 18 acres of ground twice each week, while the Automower, with its 80V battery and pinpoint precision EPOS (Exact Positioning Operating System) software, can handle another 2.5 acres. Both are fully electric, and can guide themselves back to their pens to recharge as needed.
Prices aren’t public, but the Husqvarna CEORA and Automowers are available as part of a custom lease package through Husqvarna Finance that will include access to the company’s customizable back end and ongoing support. Check with your local dealer for more.
Electrek’s Take
As a typically pro-union, pro-labor type of guy, I am hesitant to heap praise upon a robot taking away anyone’s job. That said, it does seem to be difficult for landscapers and construction crews to keep and find good labor at rates they can afford (and, let’s face it – the current Trump Administration isn’t going to be making that any easier). As such, if companies like Husqvarna and John Deere and Einride and others can build a demonstrably better mousetrap at a compelling price point … good for them. (?)
Let us know what you think in the comments.
SOURCES: Forbes, Golf Monthly; images by Husqvarna.
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In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Apple CarPlay possibly coming to Tesla cars, VW getting access to Superchargers, a Toyota electric pickup, and more.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
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2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 at a Tesla Supercharger (Source: Hyundai)
US EV sales declined in October following the expiration of the $7,500 federal tax credit on September 30, and the average transaction price (ATP) edged up, according to initial estimates from Kelley Blue Book, a Cox Automotive brand. However, there are still deals to be had.
Kelley Blue Book’s initial estimates show that US EV sales fell to 74,835 in October, down 48.9% from September, which was a record month, and 30.3% year-over-year.
Prices also ticked up. The average transaction price (ATP) for a new EV climbed 1.6% month-over-month to $59,125, which is 2.3% higher than a year ago.
Tesla didn’t escape the downturn, but it held up better than the overall EV market. The company’s ATP fell 1.1% from September to $53,526, and its prices are 5.5% lower than they were in October 2024. Sales of the Model 3 and Model Y both declined month-over-month, and overall Tesla sales decreased by 35.3% from September and 23.6% year-over-year, which are smaller declines compared to the broader EV segment.
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Cox Automotive senior analyst Stephanie Valdez Streaty said the shift wasn’t surprising:
We expected this shift in the electric vehicle market. With the IRA-backed sales incentives gone, lower-cost EV volume was hit hard, pushing the mix toward more luxury and driving October’s EV ATP to a 2025 high of $59,125 – now $9,359 above the industry average. Affordability has always been the core challenge with EV sales, and this reset only underscores how critical it is to bring more attainable EV options to market.
Electrek’s Take
September was a record-breaking month for both EV deals and sales. Dealers were offering all sorts of sweet incentives to stack with the federal tax credit to move cars off the lot. October’s sales drop was entirely anticipated, like a pounding headache after a big blowout party.
We didn’t know what the post-federal tax credit EV market would look like. As Valdez Streaty rightly states, EVs do have a higher ATP than the industry average. But it turns out that, so far, it’s not all doom and gloom, and the federal tax credit isn’t the only incentive in town.
Every month, I compile great EV lease deals, and for the last few months, some EVs’ monthly lease payments have been cheaper than before the federal tax credit expired. Many states are still offering rebates on EV purchases, and dealers still have really good deals. While cheaper models would definitely be welcome, there are good deals available right now.
And let’s not forget the fact that EVs are much cheaper to drive than gas cars, with or without that tax credit.
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