Trump in Beijing as U.S. Inflation and Oil Surge

President Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 13, 2026, as U.S. inflation readings and oil prices prompted active market attention. The Labor Department reported consumer prices up 3.7% year-over-year, while the Producer Price Index recorded a 5.2% annual gain and a 1.4% monthly increase. WTI crude traded above $100 a barrel.

Investors had prepared for months for the Trump-Xi summit. Markets remained largely in consolidation while awaiting statements from the two leaders on trade, investment and geopolitical cooperation. Oil was an outlier, rising amid reported supply constraints and continued disruptions related to conflict in the Middle East.

Tuesday’s CPI reading exceeded consensus by 0.2 percentage points. The larger concern for some market participants was the PPI monthly jump of 1.4%, since changes in wholesale costs can feed into consumer prices with a lag. Futures and swap prices reflected a reduced likelihood of near-term interest-rate cuts priced by the Federal Reserve.

Currency and equity moves reflected the repricing. The U.S. dollar strengthened and approached a technical pivot zone near recent moving averages. Most Asia-Pacific currencies advanced against the dollar except the yen. The Canadian dollar weakened versus major peers despite the jump in crude. Over the past week, the Nasdaq Composite and Japan’s Nikkei 225 outperformed the Toronto Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Germany’s DAX.

Oil’s advance above $100 was linked to persistent supply shortages and tightening global inventories amid the Middle East disruptions. Higher energy prices are being counted in headline inflation figures and factored into central bank assessments of policy paths.

Volatility in foreign-exchange markets has shown signs of easing. Cross-rate moves such as USD/CAD slowed after recent range breakouts, and technical indicators pointed to a deceleration in USD/CAD momentum. Market participants cited a busy economic calendar for the coming days, including Federal Reserve speeches, the New York Fed Empire State manufacturing index, Canada’s next CPI release and the Fed’s Beige Book.

Those scheduled releases and central bank commentary are expected to provide additional data on inflation, the labor market and the outlook for monetary policy.