Oil prices were steady on Thursday after falling in the previous session on concerns rising inflation in the United States, spurred by climbing energy costs, may prompt the government to release more strategic crude stockpiles to drive down prices.
Gold was down on Thursday morning, retreating from a five-month peak as the dollar strengthened. Record-high inflation in the U.S. saw the yellow metal hit a five-month high during the previous session.
Inflation fears pressured Asian stocks and buoyed the dollar on Thursday after data overnight showed U.S. consumer prices surged at the fastest pace since 1990 last month, boosting the case for faster Federal Reserve policy tightening.
Gold was down on Wednesday morning in Asia, retreating from a more than two-month high as the dollar strengthened.
The dollar held a three-day loss against major peers and traded near a one-month low to the yen on Wednesday, with highly anticipated U.S. inflation data looming that could guide the timing of a Federal Reserve interest rate increase.
Oil prices rose on Wednesday, extending strong gains in the previous session, after industry data showed U.S. crude stocks unexpectedly fell last week just as near term travel demand picked up with pandemic curbs easing.
