Crude oil fell as the US market opened on Wednesday to continue its losses for the third straight day after preliminary data from the American Petroleum Institute showed US commercial inventories rose, contrary to the experts' expectations, whilst traders are waiting for the official data on the inventories and production levels in the weekly report of the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) .

 By 12:02 GMT, US crude fell to $51.85 per barrel from the opening level of $53.01, with a high of $53.02 and a low of $51.46.

US crude lost 0.7% in yesterday's settlement, on the renewed fears of a global economic slowdown.

In preliminary data, the American Petroleum Institute (API) announced yesterday that the country's commercial inventories rose by 4.9 million barrels in the week ending June 7, the second weekly increase in a row, contrary to experts' expectations of a drop by 0.5 million barrels.

According to the data, total US commercial inventories rose to 482.4 million barrels, the highest level since July 2017, in a negative sign of demand levels in the world's largest oil consumer.

Traders are looking for official data on commercial stocks and production levels later in the weekly report of the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), and expectations are for inventories to fall by about 1.0 million barrels.

While for production, it increased in the previous week by 100,000 barrels per day, the third weekly increase in a row, bringing the total to a new level of 12.4 million barrels per day, the highest level ever for production in the United States.

The US economy released at 12:30 GMT, its reading for the consumer price index during May, which rose by 0.1%, in line with expectations of an increase by 0.1%, while lower than the previous reading of an increase by 0.3%.

The consumer price index, excluding food and fuel for the same month, rose by 0.1%, below expectations of a 0.2% gain, the same as the previous reading, which rose by 0.1%. This statement is negative for the US dollar.

Ethereum rose by more than 1.5% in spot trading today, to resume its gains that were temporarily halted yesterday, as this rise comes as most major currencies in the crypto market rebounded, while the world's second-largest cryptocurrency targets breaching the $260 mark. 

As of 11:45 GMT, Ethereum is trading around $249.45, up by $3.99, or 1.6%, from the opening of $245.46 , with the highest at $251.22 and the lowest at $243.00.

Yesterday, Ethereum lost 0.95%, due to correction and profit-taking after saw a 7% increase in the the previous day which is the highest daily gain since May 19.

The total market value of cryptocurrencies rose today by about $4billion to a total of $258 billion, with most major currencies prices on the market rebounding.

Most of the major cryptocurrencies in the market have rebounded on hopes that the upcoming Facebook project in the next few days will have potential that will surpass expectations, which will boost investor confidence in the crypto industry.

Meanwhile, in a joint statement, G20 finance ministers and central bank governors said "technological innovations, including basic crypto assets, can provide great benefits to the financial system and the global economy."

At the same time, "they warned regulatory authorities against risks in the crypto assets, especially those related to investor protection, anti-money laundering and terrorist financing."

US dollar fell on the European market on Wednesday against a basket of global currencies, continuing losses for the second day in a row, near its lowest level in two months, with the continuation of the greenback sell-off activity in light of the increasing likelihood for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates this year, while In order to re-evaluate those possibilities, investors will be looking at key data in the US later in today.

The dollar index fell more than 0.1% to 96.53 points, from the opening level of 96.66 points, with the highest level at 96.72 points.

Yesterday, the index lost 0.1%, the third loss in the past four days, resuming losses that were temporarily halted the previous day within recovery from a two-month low of 96.39 points.

According to the FedWatch tool of the CME, the market is pricing the possibility of a US interest rate cut of around 78% in July and about 97.1% for cuts by December.

The prospects have recently increased widely as the weak economic data from the United States, which indicates that the country's economic growth has slowed in the second quarter of this year, as well as the administration of US President Donald Trump requesting lower interest rates.

Donald Trump on Tuesday criticized the rise in US interest rates and the policy of the Federal Reserve, saying “The Fed Interest rate way too high, added to ridiculous quantitative tightening! They don’t have a clue!”

in order to reassess those possibilities, investors are anticipating major US inflation data later in the day, which in case of a negative data release will reinforce those odds and widen the losses of the US dollar against a basket of currencies.

By 12:30 GMT, the US CPI is expected to rise by 1.9% in May from 2.0% in April, and the monthly reading is expected to show a rise by 0.1% while in the previous reading it rose by 0.3%.