U.S. futures are mostly higher as Wall Street braces for one of the last price reports the government will issue before the midterm elections. Consumer prices are forecast to have risen 3.6 per cent in September compared with a year earlier, up from 3.4 per cent in August, according to a survey of economists by data provider FactSet. The U.S. Labor Department will issue the report Wednesday morning. The consumer inflation report comes at a time when Americans are worried about rising grocery and gasoline prices, continuing to have concerns over affordability. Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.2 per cent on Wednesday, while those for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.3 per cent. Nasdaq futures declined 0.1 per cent. Inflation has fallen sharply from a 9.1 per cent peak in 2022, but has ticked higher since the war in Iran began in late February. Elevated inflation has posed political problems for Republicans in Congress and is a challenge for the U.S. Federal Reserve, which is required by Congress to seek stable prices. And while gas prices have moved lower in recent weeks, they remain higher than a month ago. Gas prices averaged US$4.33 per gallon on Wednesday, according to AAA, up slightly from a month ago. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 0.6 per cent to $106.37 a barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 1.2 per cent to $95.30 a barrel. Investors will also be keeping an eye on more earnings reports Wednesday. Bank of America reported a decline in its third-quarter profit as the Treasury Department announced Tuesday that it was imposing $1.2 billion in fines on the bank for allegedly violating anti-money laundering and sanctions laws. Shares fell more than four per cent before the market open. In Europe, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.5 per cent to 7,869.99, while the German DAX rose 0.6 per cent to 25,400.20. Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.2 per cent to 10,672.28. Asian markets were lower. In other dealings, the U.S. dollar rose to 158.47 Japanese yen from 158.32. The euro fell to $1.1189 from $1.1203. By Yuri Kageyama and Michelle Chapman
