Asian shares joined U.S. stock futures in making cautious gains on Monday ahead of U.S. inflation data this week. While the euro touched a seven-year top against the yen amid wagers on European Central Bank tightening.
Oil prices firmed after Saudi Arabia raised prices sharply for its crude sales in July, an indicator of how tight supply is. This is even after OPEC+ agreed to speed up output increases over the next two months.
Markets will be on tenterhooks for the U.S. consumer price report on Friday, especially after EU inflation shocked many with a record high last week.
Forecasts are for a steep rise of 0.7% in May, though the annual pace is holding at 8.3% while core inflation is slowing a little to 5.9%. The prospect of rates turning positive this year has helped the euro nudge up to $1.0731, some way from its recent trough of $1.0348, though it has struggled to clear resistance around $1.0786.
In commodity markets, wheat futures jumped 4% after Russia struck Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, with missiles, dampening hopes for progress in peace talks. Gold was stuck at $1,855 an ounce, having held to a tight range for the past couple of weeks.
Oil prices got an added lift after Saudi Arabia set higher prices for shipments to Asia. While investors are wagering, supply increases planned by OPEC will not be enough to meet demand. Especially as China is easing its lockdowns. Indeed, Brent is already well past that, adding 74 cents on Monday to reach $120.46 a barrel. U.S. crude rose another 75 cents to $119.62 per barrel.
-Reuters.
