TOKYO — U.S. futures are sliding after intensifying violence in the Middle East pushed the price of crude oil over US$100 a barrel.
It’s the first time Brent crude, the international standard, has reached triple digits in nearly six weeks. Fighting in the Middle East has throttled the global flow of oil and rising energy prices are adding to inflationary pressures.
Brent crude rose 2.8 per cent to $100.70 a barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude gained 2.4 per cent to $95.28 a barrel, and it’s dragging gasoline prices higher with it.
The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline ticked up 7 cents overnight to hit $4.22, now more than a dollar above what it cost at this point last year, according to AAA.
Diesel prices, which can have an outsized impact on consumers because it is used in shipping and production, hit an all-time high Friday and has continued to climb since. The average price for a gallon reached $5.94 overnight and is now 9 cents higher than it was Friday.
Futures for the S&P 500 dropped 0.3 per cent before the market opened Wednesday, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures declined 0.5 per cent. Nasdaq futures fell 0.4 per cent.
Shares of Meta Platforms are up more than 5 per cent in premarket trading as the parent company of Instagram and Facebook launched a personal artificial intelligence agent, Muse, for people 18 and over who are looking for help with day-to-day tasks like schedules and shopping.
The U.S. this week also release inflation data. On Thursday, the U.S. government will release its August report for inflation at the wholesale level. The more closely watched Consumer Price Index comes out on Friday. The CPI provides details on price changes for specific grocery items, furniture, and clothing, among other categories.
Economists expect consumer inflation to have eased a bit, to 3.3 per cent from July’s 3.4 per cent. That’s well above the 2 per cent target that the Federal Reserve has set as its goal.
The Fed meets next week to decide whether to cut, raise or hold interest rates steady. The traditional move for the Fed when inflation is high is to raise its main interest rate. But President Donald Trump has been lobbying for lower interest rates.
Japan’s central bank also will meet next week to decide on its benchmark rate. Market watchers are expecting an increase, with the question shifting to by how much and if there will be more rate hikes this year.
In Europe, France’s CAC 40 slipped 1.6 per cent to 8,183.80, while the German DAX declined 1.4 per cent to 25,648.34. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.9 per cent to 10,711.42. Asian markets were mixed.
The U.S. dollar fell to 153.55 Japanese yen from 153.99. The euro cost $1.1633, inching up from $1.1624.
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Yuri Kageyama, The Associated Press
