Geoffrey Smith 

Investing.com — April’s U.S. data on personal income and expenditure – the Fed’s favorite measure of inflation, Personal Consumer Expenditures. Analysts anticipate evidence to show that inflation reached its peak in March. The global wheat market is seeing a rise as Europe fails to persuade Vladimir Putin that Ukraine should allow exports of grain from its ports. Ethereum falls due to delays in its major network upgrade. The stock market is set to end a seven week losing streak. However, Gap proves that the retail industry can still produce at least one horror story per day. Oil prices are also expected to drop from highs before the U.S. summer driving seasons. This is what you should know about financial markets Friday 27th May.

1. The annual inflation rate may be at an all-time high

The U.S. will release and data at 8:30 AM ET (1230 GMT), along with figures for , the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation.

Although the PCE numbers will add evidence to show that the annual rate for peaked in March due to an increase in prices in April, this was largely because the year-on–year calculations were not applied to it. The most important figure will therefore be the monthly increase in the, expected to remain unchanged at 0.3% from March.

More granular data on spending on Thursday appeared to paint a picture of consumers moving downmarket to save money – Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:) being one of the biggest beneficiaries of that trend. Costco (NASDAQ:), numbers showed bargain-hunting after the bell. However, most attention will be on Gap (NYSE 🙂 which fell after repeating this week’s list of woes.

2. In Ukraine, the deadlock has caused wheat to rise

Global wheat prices pushed higher again as Russia rejected claims by the West that it’s responsible for the shortage of grain on world markets.

In a phone call with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed Ukraine for the blockade his navy has put on shipments out of Ukraine’s ports on the Black Sea. Russia said it would arrange safe passage if they were freed from West-imposed sanctions.

By 6:05 AM ET, the price of a ton rose 1.0% to $1154.30

This call was made as Russia is close to a technical default in its international debt. The U.S. Treasury closed an exemption that would have allowed Russia to continue paying its dollars-denominated bonds. According to British intelligence, Russia is making steady and incremental gains on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas.

3. Stocks will snap a 7-week losing streak. Workday’s earnings have put it under stress

The U.S. stock market is set to end a seven week losing streak. This comes on the back of growing optimism that the Federal Reserve will reduce or stop its monetary tightening as the economy slows.

Weak data from the and earnings downgrades from the retail sector have both pointed to the froth coming off some of the frothiest areas of the economy this week (although the week’s numbers suggested no meaningful uptick in lay-offs yet).

At 6:10 AM ET they had gained 30 points or 0.1%. Meanwhile, 0.2% were higher and 0.4% were lower. Each of the three major cash indices is on track for more than 4% gains this week.

Apple (NASDAQ) stock could be in line for attention following newswires that retransmitted video footage showing a riot at the Chinese factory of one its suppliers earlier this month. Quanta Workers at Computer (TW) in Shanghai who build the MacBooks for Apple have been protesting for almost two months at work.

After disappointing guidance and missing earnings forecasts on Thursday, Workday (NASDAQ) will be the focus.

4. Ethereum sinks due to Merge delay

Although stocks are recovering, crypto remains in trouble. The delay in the switch to a new method of operating that will reduce energy usage and decrease transaction fees caused crypto’s drop in value.

The so-called “Merge,” which will see the network transition from the usual ‘proof-of-work’ mechanism for mining new coins to a system known as ‘proof-of-stake’, isn’t expected to be completed before August, the network’s pioneer Vitalik Buterin said at a conference last week.

Ethereum dropped 10% and as much as 8.8% Thursday before balancing losses to trade at $1.786.68 by 06:15 ET. The news also weighed on other ‘alt-coins’, with losing 13% and losing 22%. The $29,000 mark was the highest level at which cryptocurrencies have failed to reach.

5. Petroleum close to its highest levels ahead of Memorial Day weekend

Crude oil prices eased slightly – but only slightly – ahead of a Memorial Day weekend when pent-up demand for travel in the reopened U.S. economy is likely to trump record-high gasoline prices.

Bloomberg reported Thursday that signs that the Biden administration is changing its approach to energy policy have increased as Bloomberg reported that they are asking the oil sector about the possibility to reopen shuttered refineries. The goal is to raise domestic supplies and lower the prices before it’s too late.

At 6:20 AM ET futures had fallen 0.5% to $113.58/barrel while they were 0.3% down at $113.78/barrel