Investing.com – Here’s a preview of the top 3 things that could rock markets tomorrow
1. European Inflation To Help Euro Avoid Weekly Loss?
The Eurozone release its final consumer price index (CPI) reading for January on Friday. A stronger than expected CPI print could renew investor expectations the central bank could tighten monetary policy measures sooner rather than lighter after the release of somewhat dovish ECB minutes Thursday.
The minutes showed that the central bank continued to believe that patience was needed as inflation remained weak and agreed that it was still “premature” to adjust forward guidance.
Economists forecast an unchanged final reading for Eurozone inflation of 1.3% for January compared to 1.4% in the prior month.
EUR/USD rose 0.39% to $1.2331 as the greenback fell sharply weighed by a fall in bond yields after St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard downplayed the chances of the Fed raising rates four times this year.
2. Canadian Inflation To Confirm Canada’s Economy Slowing
Canadian Inflation is expected show pricing pressure remained subdued in January amid growing signs that the economy is slowing after retail sales released Thursday fell well short of forecasts.
Economist forecast consumer price inflation in December fell 0.5%, compared to 0.1% decline in the previous month.
TD Securities said Thursday's negative retail sales print supports its call for “only two rate hike in 2018,” with the next hike expected as late as July given that the economy has “clearly cooled” and that the medium-term economic outlook is facing several domestic headwinds.
USD/CAD rose by 0.06% to C$1.2711.
3. Crude To Notch Second Straight Week of Gains?
The weekly instalment of drilling activity from Baker Hughes on Friday, will provide investors with fresh insight into U.S. oil production and demand after data showed the number of oil rigs operating in the US jumped by seven to 798, the highest level since April 2, 2015.
The weekly rig count is an important barometer for the drilling industry and serves as a proxy for oil production and oil services demand.
Crude futures settled higher on Thursday as traders cheered data showing weekly crude supplies unexpectedly fell for the first time in four weeks.
Some said, however, that the surprise draw in crude supplies was supported by added incentive to sell rather than store crude as current prices traded at a premium to forward prices – a market structure known as backwardation.