Oil holds ahead of US inventories data
Oil prices held on Wednesday, as the dollar fell against most of its peers, ahead of the US inventories data.
Commodity prices spiked recently, led by oil, metals, natural gas and others, due to strong demand and a drop in supply.
Data showed today that the US consumer price index rose 0.4% during September, beating forecasts of 0.3%.
The core consumer price index reading (excluding energy and food prices) rose 0.2% last month as expected.
The American Petroleum Institute will release its preliminary report on the US crude inventories later today, and the US Energy Information Administration will release the official data on Wednesday.
As of 16:37 GMT, WTI crude November futures rose less than 0.1% to $80.6 a barrel
Brent December futures held at $83.4 a barrel.
US stocks tilt lower after inflation data
Most of the main US stock benchmarks fell on Wednesday, after the release of the US inflation data, while the cooperate earnings reports season kicked off.
Major US banks kicked off the Q3 earnings reports season, which has a huge impact on the banking sector.
Data showed today that the US consumer price index rose 0.4% during September, beating forecasts of 0.3%.
The core consumer price index reading (excluding energy and food prices) rose 0.2% last month as expected.
As for stocks, Dow Jones fell 0.3% or 113 points to 34,264 as of 13:54 GMT, and S&P 500 fell 0.1% or 3 points to 4,346, while Nasdaq rose 0.3% or 44 points to 14,509.
Oil falls ahead of US inventories data
Oil prices continued to fall as the US market opened on Tuesday, pulling back from multi-year highs on profit-taking, amid global demand concerns after the IMF slashed its economic growth forecast for most major economies, in addition to expected hike in the US crude inventories for the third straight week.
US crude fell 0.9% to $79.83 a barrel, after opening at $80.57, and hit a low at $80.76, and Brent crude fell 0.5% to $82.58 a barrel, after opening at $83.08, and hit a low at $83.56.
The US crude gained 0.1% yesterday, in the fourth straight daily gain, after it hit a 7-year high at $82.15.
Brent fell 0.5%, the first daily loss, after it hit the highest since October 2018 at $84.58.
The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday slashed its estimate for economic growth in the US and other major economies, and attributed that to concerns over the new wave of the coronavirus, and expectations it would halt the global economic recovery.
This raised concerns about the global demand for fuel during the last quarter of 2021, and about the widening supply deficit.
The American Petroleum Institute will release its preliminary report on the US crude inventories later today, and the US Energy Information Administration will release the official data on Wednesday.
The API reported last week that the US crude stocks rose for the second time in a row, a negative sign about demand and consumption levels in the US.
US consumer prices rise more than expected in September
At 12:30 GMT, the US economy released its reading for the consumer price index, which rose by 0.4% in September, more than forecasts of 0.3%, and more than the previous reading of 0.3%.
The core reading (excluding food and fuel prices) rose by 0.2%, on par with forecasts, and higher than the previous reading of 0.2%. This data is positive for the US dollar.