Investing.com – Here’s a preview of the top 3 things that could rock markets tomorrow
Eurozone inflation in focus
EUR/USD could be the ‘one to watch’ in Friday’s session as preliminary inflation data is expected to show consumer prices rose at a faster pace in September, following a 1.5% reading for August.
Economists are forecasting that the consumer price index (CPI) rose at an annual rate of 1.6% in September.
Inflation has trailed the European Central Bank’s target, of below, but close to, 2% over the medium term.
That, however, has not deterred traders from piling into the euro on the back of rising expectations that the ECB will start to taper its bond-buying programme sooner rather than later.
EUR/USD rose 0.31% to $1.1784.
UK economic growth data on tap
Economists forecast the final reading of second quarter UK Gross Domestic product (GDP) to confirm that the UK economy grew a 0.3% in the previous quarter.
Some analysts noted, however, that UK economic growth could come under pressure as private consumption slowed to its weakest rate in two years, with government spending and investment responsible for the bulk of GDP growth.
"We will also get data for the current account deficit and the savings ratio. The latter took a dive to 1.7% in Q1, which was partly anomalous, due to higher self-assessed tax revenues in Q1 reducing disposable income," analysts at HSBC said.
GBP/USD rose 0.37% to $1.3433.
Baker Hughes rig count
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 the number of active drilling rigs has slowed in recent weeks.
The weekly rig count is an important barometer for the drilling industry and serves as a proxy for oil production and oil services demand.
At Thursday’s settlement price, crude futures settled 1.1% at $51.56 dollars a barrel and remained on track for a fourth consecutive weekly gain. The uptick in sentiment on oil prices comes amid growing expectations that surging global oil demand will offset the glut in supply.