President Donald Trump touted the idea of Americans paying less than $3 a gallon for gasoline during his tariff rollout speech. And even while crude oil markets are slumping, costs for the fuel have remained stubbornly above that level and look set to remain that way — at least for now. 

“Gasoline is way under $3, and people are beginning to be able to buy things and live again,” Trump told an audience in the White House’s Rose Garden Wednesday afternoon. But average US gasoline prices measured by the American Automobile Association were $3.26 a gallon as he delivered the speech, 13 cents higher than when he took office on Jan. 20. Gasoline hasn’t cost US drivers less than $3 a gallon on average since 2021, when the US economy emerged from the depths of the Covid—19 pandemic that decimated travel demand.

Trump’s new levies did, however, have an immediate effect on futures markets for fuel. Gasoline futures tumbled as much as 8.2% and diesel futures fell as much as 7% on Thursday as part of a broader rout. Crude futures in New York slumped as much as 8%.

Though oil prices are the biggest factor in the cost of producing a gallon of gasoline in the US, declines in the futures market don’t usually bring immediate relief to consumers at the pump, especially with peak demand season just around the corner.

Refiners get to decide how much of a discount they will factor into what are known as rack prices, the amount they charge fuel sellers like gas stations and wholesalers. Those producers and fuel sellers have little incentive to drop pump prices based on one day of trading in the volatile futures markets, especially since they’re now enjoying better margins. A more sustained decline for crude, though, could eventually trickle its way through into retail gasoline. 

But meanwhile, the US is heading into peak driving season, which lasts from May’s Memorial Day holiday week through Labor Day in September, when Americans hit the road for summer vacations. Fuel demand and prices often rise in this period as demand increases and refiners switch to making a more expensive gasoline grade in the warmer weather to meet emissions regulations.

Some consolation for drivers is that fuel prices, while unlikely to fall below $3 for gasoline, are cheaper now than they have been in the last three years in the run-up to the summer. Gasoline prices on Wednesday, as Trump took the podium, were about 30 cents a gallon cheaper than the same day of 2024.

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Coffee in the US risks getting even more expensive as President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff measures hit Vietnam, one of its biggest suppliers, with hefty levies.

The Southeast Asian nation is the world’s leading producer of robusta coffee, the variety used in instant drinks and espressos. The 46% tariff on Vietnam’s goods — among the highest of the rates Trump imposed against US trading partners — threatens to disrupt flows and comes as coffee costs have already soared on the back of harvest shortfalls.

New York futures for arabica, the high-end variety used in coffee shops, have held near a record high after adverse weather hit key growing regions. Supply shortfalls also pushed robusta futures in London up more than 40% over the past year. 

On Thursday, the most-active contract for robusta fell as much as 2.5%, while arabica futures dropped as much as 3.1%. Both contracts pared most of those losses by the market settle.

“The tariffs will likely add to coffee market volatility and could exacerbate existing supply tightness,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at brokerage Phillip Nova Pte. in Singapore. “US coffee prices could rise, especially for robusta-based products.”

Nguyen Nam Hai, chairman of the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association, said he was “stunned” to see such a high tax rate against the nation. “Everyone is worried, especially about the signed export contracts,” he said by telephone.

Still, the country ships a lot to other regions like the European Union, helping to temper the impact. 

While there has been an incentive to use the cheaper robusta variety, the world’s top arabica grower Brazil has been hit by a lower 10% baseline tariff. That potentially makes arabica a more appealing option, said Steve Wateridge, head of research at TRS by Expana.

“The fact that all the main arabica producers seem to be at a 10% tariff rate, whereas Vietnam and Indonesia are much higher, there may be a change in the flow as there’s an incentive to use more arabica or Brazilian Conilon,” he said.

But for US buyers, alternatives are limited, with Vietnam its third-biggest supplier. Stocks in the US already have little room for further drawdowns and will likely remain low with the tariffs in place, said Daryl Kryst, vice president of Soft and Agricultural Commodities Asia for StoneX Group Inc.

Although some importers may try to increase purchases from Brazil, Indonesia and Ivory Coast, those countries cannot fully replace Vietnam’s high volume and consistent quality, Sachdeva said. And some of them were hit by steep tariffs too.

Switching to arabica may also not be viable as robusta is critical for instant coffee and espresso, she said. The tariffs will make it “even harder for US buyers to secure affordable robusta, leading to potential shortages,” she said.

Other soft commodities also broadly fell, with the exception of New York cocoa prices that rose as much as 5.8% after the US announced tariffs on top grower Ivory Coast. Cotton futures dropped as much as 4.4% on fears of weaker demand, reaching its exchange limit. Orange juice prices, meanwhile, sank 6% intraday.

Robusta futures dropped 0.22% in London to reach $5,388 a ton, while arabica fell 0.93% in New York. New York cocoa rose 3.6% in New York, while London futures fell 1.4%. Cotton sank 4.4% in New York.

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Scott Kupor, the first hire at Silicon Valley venture capital powerhouse Andreessen Horowitz, is stepping away from active management of dozens of funds but maintaining passive stake in nearly 40 other firm funds, as the Senate weighs his nomination by Trump to lead the Office of Personnel Management.

Kupor will resign as managing partner from a16z, as the firm is known, and has already given up his managing member seat in 32 a16z funds, including several of the firm’s bio and seed funds, according to a letter he wrote to the OPM ethics official that was made public ahead of his confirmation hearing on Thursday. He will remain a passive investor in 38 other funds, according to the letter, though he will forfeit any carried interest that is unvested when he is appointed.

As part of his appointment, Kupor will also divest from positions in Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, Amazon, Lockheed Martin, and other companies, and resign from several board positions in a16z portfolio companies, including Formation Bio, a startup that uses AI to speed up drug development; Talkiatry, a psychiatric care startup; Pearl Health, a primary care organization software startup; and Foursquare, the geolocation and social networking company. He will also step off the board of Alice Walton’s Heartland Whole Health Institute, a non-profit organization founded by Walton in 2019 to rework the healthcare payment and health care delivery system, and the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. 

Kupor is among several prominent Silicon Valley investors and entrepreneurs who have been tapped for roles in the Trump administration, along with AI and Crypto czar David Sacks of Craft Ventures, and Senior White House AI policy advisor Sriram Krishnan, who previously worked at a16z. 

While federal ethics regulations via the Office of Government Ethics often require Cabinet appointees to divest from any companies with financial interests that either pose a conflict of interest or lead to the perception of one, some Trump picks, such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk, have kept their day jobs by working with the White House as “special government employees” who can only serve for 130 days.

Kupor declined to comment for this story. An a16z spokeswoman said that Kupor’s board seats will be covered by other people at the firm.

Thursday morning Kupor had his confirmation hearing with the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, in which he testified to Republican and Democratic members and laid out his general plans and the approach he will take to the role. 

Kupor was selected by Trump in December to lead the Office of Personnel Management. Kupor was the first hire of Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz in 2009, shortly after they set up the venture capital firm. Both investors had publicly supported and donated to Trump’s campaign in 2024, and, since the election, Andreessen has spent a significant amount of time at Mar-a-Lago, and Vice President J.D. Vance spoke at the firm’s American Dynamism Summit in D.C. in March.

Kupor’s hearing on Thursday became contentious at times, as Senators pressed Kupor to comment on the firings and cuts that have disrupted numerous federal agencies in the months since President Donald Trump has taken office. Kupor refrained from speaking about any of the terminations but repeatedly said that he believed it was important to treat federal employees in a way that “respects the dignity and humanity” of workers.

“I’ve been very clear in my written responses, in the conversations that we’ve had, that I think the process is one that requires transparency and communication, and we need to recognize and respect the humanity of the workforce,” Kupor said calmly during the hearing in response to questions.

In prepared statements to the Committee, Kupor emphasized his time at a16z and his role in building it from a 3-person $300 million fund to a 600-person $45 billion financial institution.

“Yes, I come from the private sector and, yes, I recognize that the government is not the private sector. Rightly so, the government may have different goals and objectives that should inform our thinking,” Kupor said. “But the fundamentals of organizational design are the same, whether in non-profits, the government or in the private sector. And this is where I believe that my professional experiences make me uniquely suited for this role.”

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