Morning Bid: Oil smudges inflation view, Tesla in slow lane

investing.com:

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan

Creeping oil prices are complicating the inflation picture again, with producer inputs and retail sales updates next on the U.S. economy's dashboard on Thursday — while Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) drifts further from the megacap stock vanguard.

As thoughts of U.S. recession recede further, oil prices climbed again on Thursday after data showed U.S. gasoline stocks fell for the sixth straight week to three-month lows and crude stockpiles dropped unexpectedly.

With global supply concerns also jarred this week by Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries, U.S. crude rose back above $80 per barrel, close to the year's high and pushing year-on-year to 12% — the fastest pace since September.

Rising fuel prices were partly responsible for stickier consumer price readings for February earlier this week and the producer price report for last month is due out later — important for many economists as it contains key components in the Federal Reserve's favored PCE inflation gauge.

Annual headline PPI inflation is expected to tick back up to still-subdued 1.1% during the month, although «core» rates are forecast to fall back below 2.0%. A retail sales readout for February and weekly jobless numbers are also on the diary.

With next week's Fed meeting now on the radar, futures pricing for a June interest rate cut edged lower. And despite a decent 30-year Treasury bond auction on Wednesday, Treasury yields nudged higher.

Curiously, Treasury market volatility swooned however and the MOVE index fell to its lowest since September.

Wall St stocks stalled again on Wednesday after the prior session's surge, although stock futures were firmer into the latest screed of economic updates.