US crude stocks tumble last week
The Energy Information Administration reported a steeo drop of 12.5 million barrels in US crude stocks last week, while analysts expected an increase of 1.9 million barrels.
Gasoline stocks are now down 2.1 million barrels to 216.3 million barrels, while distillate stocks are down 600 thousand barrels to 105.7 million barrels.
Wall Street below 33 thousand points ahead of Fed minutes
US stock indices declined on Wednesday amid the ongoing debt ceiling crisis with little progress in negotiations, while investors await the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes.
Debt Ceiling
White House and Congressional officials will meet later today to further negotiate after the failure of the previous talks to reach a compromise on raising the debt ceiling.
US President Joe Biden will extend talks with Congressional leaders later this week in a race to a catastrophic default on debt next week.
Many sticking points remain between both sides, with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reiterating warnings from a potential default on payments next June, which would threaten the credit rating for the US and tip the economy into recession.
Fed Meeting
Investors additionally await the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes later today to better gauge the path forward for monetary policy in the US.
On trading, Dow Jones fell 0.6%, or 200 points as of 15:47 GMT to 32,856, while S&P 500 fell 0.7%, or 30 points to 4,112, as NASDAQ lost 1%, or 121 points to 12,437.
Nickel extends losses but remains near $20,000 a tone
Nickel prices declined on Wednesday as the dollar maintained strength against most major rivals while the US debt ceiling crisis progresses.
Debt Ceiling
White House and Congressional officials will meet later today to further negotiate after the failure of the previous talks to reach a compromise on raising the debt ceiling.
US President Joe Biden will extend talks with Congressional leaders later this week in a race to a catastrophic default on debt next week.
Many sticking points remain between both sides, with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reiterating warnings from a potential default on payments next June, which would threaten the credit rating for the US and tip the economy into recession.
Fed Meeting
Investors additionally await the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes later today to better gauge the path forward for monetary policy in the US.
Otherwise, the dollar index rose 0.2% as of 15:19 GMT to 103.7, with a session-high at 103.7, and a low at 103.3.
Dollar's strength is weighing on most commodities and minerals and leading to a considerable decline.
Nickel spot prices tumbled 1.2% as of 15:30 GMT to $20.5 thousand a tone.
Sterling rebounds from four-week trough following strong inflation data
Sterling rose in European trade away from four-week lows against dollar, on track for the first profit in three days following strong UK inflation data.
Such data bolstered the the case for another rate hike by Bank of England next month to combat stubborn inflation, with increased speculation about yet an additional rate hike in July as well.
GBP/USD rose 0.5% to 1.2470, with a session-low at 1.2411, after closing down 0.2% yesterday, the second loss in a row, plumbing four-week lows at 1.2373 as dollar strengthened against major rivals, and following weak UK data.
UK Inflation Data
UK consumer prices rose 8.7% in April, passing estimates of a 8.2% increase, while down from 10.1% in March.
Core consumer prices rose 6.8% in April, passing estimates of 6.2%, and up from 6.2% in March.
Bank of England
Such data showed that inflationary pressures remain strong on Bank of England's policymakers, and shows the need for further increases in interest rates.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said there might be a need for further increases in UK interest rates if inflation remained high.
UK Interest Rates
Markets are fully pricing in a 0.25% rate hike by BoE in June, with another likely 0.25% rate hike in July.