Oil prices rose in Asian trade on Thursday, extending gains from the prior session as a softer-than-expected U.S. consumer inflation reading brought down the dollar and ramped up hopes of interest rate cuts.
The dollar skidded to multi-month lows on Thursday after U.S. core inflation hit its slowest in three years, pulling forward expectations for rate cuts in the world's biggest economy and drawing bets that the U.S. currency may have peaked, for now.
Walmart Inc announced on Tuesday that it plans to cut hundreds of jobs at its corporate headquarters and relocate a majority of its U.S. and Canada-based remote workforce to three offices, a shift in strategy after initially endorsing virtual work during the pandemic.
U.S. small-business confidence increased in April and the share of owners planning to raise prices was the smallest in a year, but persistent labor shortages continued to exert cost pressures for owners, a survey showed on Tuesday.
U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in April amid strong gains in the costs of services and goods, indicating that inflation remained elevated early in the second quarter.
Asian stocks rose on Wednesday while the dollar drifted lower as traders weighed mixed US producer price data and braced for the crucial consumer price report later in the day that is likely to influence the Federal Reserve's (Fed) near-term policy path.