Investing.com - There was a time when all that U.S. Treasury Secretaries were permitted to say about the U.S. dollar was that a strong dollar was in best interests of the country. There was a fear that anything else would roil the markets. That looks overly cautious given today the president has pretty much called for a weaker U.S. dollar.
President Donald Trump tweeted that the euro and “other currencies” are devalued, putting the U.S. at a disadvantage and took another swipe at high U.S. rates and “ridiculous” quantitative tightening.
The best bet for excitement tomorrow looks to be the oil market. Crude traded flat today, with traders wary about what the EIA will say in its latest inventory report.
Crude inventories have been stunning the market of late, rising sharply at a time when drawdowns are expected as summer driving boosts gasoline demand. And with U.S. production at record highs the glut has kept prices on the back foot.
Here are the three things that could rock the markets tomorrow.
1. More Jawboning on US-China Trade
U.S. markets are likely to continue to ebb and flow to the tune of ongoing comments on trade from both Washington and Beijing as the G20 meeting edges closer.
Both nations upped the ante on Tuesday, with China's foreign ministry warning that it would respond firmly if the U.S. insisted on escalating its standoff with China.
U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, continued to suggest the U.S. has the edge in the ongoing trade war.
"It’s me right now that’s holding up the deal,” Trump said. “And we’re going to either do a great deal with China or we’re not going to do a deal at all."
2. Consumer Inflation to Cement July Rate-Cut Expectations?
Market participants look ahead to the release of consumer inflation data due Wednesday 8:30 AM ET (12:30 GMT) for further signs to support the current narrative that subdued price pressures will force the Federal Reserve to cut rates as soon as July.
According to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool, more than 84% of traders expect the Fed to cut rates next month.
Economists forecast overall inflation, measured by the consumer price index (CPI), in May slowed to 0.1% from 0.3% the prior month, while the core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy price, is seen rising to 0.2% from 0.1% a month earlier. That would bring year-over-year CPI growth to 1.9% and core CPI growth up 2.1%.
3. Crude Inventories on Tap
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) petroleum report is due Wednesday, with many wary of another unexpected build in crude stockpiles.
Crude oil futures climbed 1 cent to settle at $53.27 a barrel.
Ahead of the EIA report, the American Petroleum Institute released data - while not perfectly correlated with the EIA's report - showing that crude stockpiles rose by 4.852 million barrels last week.
The EIA is expected to report a draw in crude stockpiles of 0.481 million barrels for the week ended June 7.
U.S. weekly production, which hit a record 12.4 million barrels a day, will likely also attract attention after the EIA cut its forecast on domestic output. The EIA forecasts 2019 U.S. crude production of 12.32 million barrels a day, down 1% from the May forecast, and cut its 2020 outlook by 0.9% to 13.26 million barrels a day.