Materials Shares Dip After Weak Inflation Data - Materials Roundup

Shares of commodities producers fell after weak inflation data. The producer price index declined by 0.1% in June, an unexpected retreat that suggests inflation remains weak. Prices of raw materials are often major inputs into inflation gauges. One silver lining for the commodities sector is the possibility that the weak inflation data will discourage the Federal Reserve from hiking interest rates later in the year. Economists surveyed earlier in the summer by The Wall Street Journal see the Federal Reserve raising interest rates once more in 2017 and three times in 2018, a view that matches the Fed's own projections. Swiss mining and trading giant Glencore reported a $2.5 billion net gain for the first six months through June, compared with a $369 million net loss in the same period a year earlier, a dramatic turnaround from a company that some credit-derivatives traders had bet would not survive the commodities bust. Elliott Management lost its latest legal challenge to remove paint maker Akzo Nobel NV's chairman, but the legal decision signaled that the New York hedge fund could pursue this effort at a later date. Heightened tensions between the U.S. and North Korea drove up gold futures to a two-month high.

-Rob Curran, rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 10, 2017 16:28 ET (20:28 GMT)