United States in May 2026: the most important developments in economy
In May 2026 the news about the US economy was dominated by artificial intelligence. On 19 May Google and Blackstone were reported to be creating a new AI cloud company, combining Google's cloud technology with Blackstone's capital. Nvidia continued a record-breaking streak, with chief executive Jensen Huang describing a new $200 billion market. Meta began laying off about 8,000 employees, nearly 10 percent of its workforce, while moving staff into AI roles. On 18 May a jury rejected Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman, finding that Musk waited too long to challenge the company's shift to a for-profit model.
The war with Iran weighed on energy markets all month. The Strait of Hormuz remained shut, and oil prices moved with each turn in the talks: Brent stayed above $100 a barrel in early May, reached $105 on 12 May and fell below $97 on 25 May on hopes of a deal. New US strikes on Iran on 26 May pushed prices up again, and on 28 May the US sanctioned Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority, which oversees shipping in the strait. US inflation reached 3.8% in April. Spirit Airlines ceased operations on 2 May after a rescue plan by the Trump administration failed.
On trade, President Donald Trump said on 1 May he would raise tariffs on EU cars and trucks to 25%. On 8 May a US trade court ruled his global tariffs illegal, and he said he would take another approach. On 20 May the EU reached a provisional trade agreement with the US. Around 14 May Trump travelled to China with 16 executives to meet Xi Jinping, who promised US businesses wider market access. The US said China would buy $17 billion of agricultural goods a year, and China confirmed the purchase of 200 Boeing jets.
Kevin Warsh took over the Federal Reserve in the second half of the month, while Fed officials Jefferson and Goolsbee warned of inflation risks from the energy price surge and of a 'stagflationary' direction for the economy.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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