Commodities
Oil Price Surge Fuels Inflation Fears Ahead of Key Market Reports
A key day looms for both agricultural and financial markets as major reports are released on Friday.
The USDA will release its crop production and world supply and demand reports, which could impact grain prices. However, global financial markets will likely take their cues from the August consumer price index (CPI) due out at 7:30 a.m. CT.
Oil futures are surging, with both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude pushing above $100 a barrel, stoking fears of resurgent inflation.
The rise in oil prices has also led to higher producer prices, which rose 0.4% in August, according to the Labor Department. The year-over-year rate accelerated to 5.4% from 4.8%.