European stocks edged higher Thursday, but gains have been minimal as investors awaited the latest policy decision by the European Central Bank as well as key U.S. inflation data.
At 03:05 ET (07:05 GMT), the DAX index in Germany climbed 0.1%, the CAC 40 in France gained 0.3% and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. rose 0.3%.
ECB meeting in spotlight All eyes Thursday are on Frankfurt as the ECB concludes its latest policy-setting meeting, with policymakers widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged.
The ECB halved its key rate to 2% in the year to June, but has been on hold ever since as inflation has returned to target and growth has stabilized.
However, the uncertainty surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump’s 15% tariffs on European Union imports, coupled with an already low growth rate and fresh political turmoil in France, the region’s second-largest economy, suggests the ECB will keep alive the prospect of further easing.
With policymakers seeking time to understand how these factors will affect growth and inflation in the region, ECB President Christine Lagarde is unlikely to offer specific guidance about future policy, but she is unlikely to close the door on further rate cuts, especially since inflation is projected to dip below the ECB’s 2% target next year.
U.S. CPI looms large Investors will also be carefully studying the latest U.S. consumer price index data ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve policy-setting meeting.
3rd party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Investing.com. See disclosure here or remove ads. Headline CPI is expected to have risen 2.9% in August from a year earlier, the fastest pace since January, while the core measure likely held at 3.1%.
A quarter-point rate cut from the Fed next week is more than fully priced in, and thus it would take a severe increase to derail such a move, while a benign product price index has once more fueled bets of a 50 basis-point cut.
Energean signs new deals The corporate earnings slate is largely empty Thursday, but Energean Oil & Gas (LON:ENOG) signed more than $4 billion in new long-term gas contracts in the first half of 2025, lifting its total contracted revenues to about $20 billion over the next two decades.
Crude slips lower on U.S. demand concerns Oil prices slipped lower on weak demand in the United States, after logging strong gains this week on heightened geopolitical tensions in Russia and the Middle East.
At 03:05 ET, Brent futures dropped 0.1% to $67.41 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.2% to $63.57 a barrel.
U.S. crude inventories rose by 3.9 million barrels in the week to September 5, the Energy Information Administration said late Wednesday, against expectations of a draw of 1 million barrels.
Gasoline stocks also rose, adding 1.5 million barrels, against expectations of a draw of 200,000 barrels.
Evidence of a slowing U.S. economy will raise concerns that demand in the largest energy consumer in the world is set to slow as the year progresses,
The benchmark contracts gained more than $1 a barrel each on Wednesday on heightened concerns over supply disruptions in Russia and the Middle East.
The gains were a continuation of an upward trend for oil prices for much of this month after they hit a three-month low on September 5.
