Title: European Stock Futures Edge Lower; Eurozone CPI Data Due

Aug 18, 2022 01:59AM ET

By: AnalysisWatch

European stock markets are expected to open slightly lower on Thursday, as investors look at the minutes of the last Federal Reserve meeting before the final Eurozone inflation data in July.

At 02:00 GMT, the DAX futures contract in Germany was trading 0.4% lower; the CAC 40 futures contract in France was down 0.2%; and the FTSE 100 futures contract in the UK was down 0.2%.

The minutes of the U.S. central bank's July meeting showed "little evidence" late last month that inflationary pressures in the U.S. were easing, the minutes of the central bank's July meeting showed when released Wednesday.

Yet they noted an eventual slowdown in the pace of hikes, but not a shift to cuts in 2023, which was the widely held view before the minutes were published.

Much uncertainty still remains about the size of the rate hike at the Fed's next meeting in September, and that could keep equity markets in tight trading ranges ahead of the central bankers' meeting in Jackson Hole next week.

In Europe, euro zone economic growth for the second quarter was revised down on Wednesday from 0.7% to 0.6% on a quarterly basis, and investors will look at the latest inflation estimates in the region, although they are not expected to deviate from preliminary estimates.

They rose 8.9% year-on-year in July, a monthly increase of 0.1%.

European Central Bank Governing Council member Isabel Schnabel said in an interview with Reuters on Thursday that the outlook for euro zone inflation had not improved since the July rate hike, suggesting she would vote for another big rate increase next month.

Oil prices held steady on Thursday as traders weighed declining U.S. inventories against concerns about a slowdown in the global economy.

As of 02:00 GMT, US crude futures were trading 0.1% lower at $88.05 a barrel, while the Brent contract was down 0.1% at $93.60.

Moreover, gold futures traded unchanged at $1,776.65 per troy ounce, while EUR/USD was 0.2% lower at $1.0162.