World stocks steadied around the week’s lows with the mood dampened by inflation worries ahead of U.S. consumer price data later on Wednesday, with economic recovery in many countries keeping oil prices near multi-year highs.
September U.S. CPI is forecast to show a monthly gain of 0.3%, according to a Reuters poll. Minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s September policy meeting are also due later, while JPMorgan will be the first major bank to report at the unofficial start of the company earnings season.
“The markets are at a crossroads,” said Giles Coghlan, chief currency analyst at HYCM. “Are we are in a stagflationary environment – will we see low growth but high inflation? That’s the concern.”
