World stocks were poised to eke out slim gains for the week on Friday as a tentative recovery in oil prices spurred investors to hunt for bargains in the beaten-down energy sector and helped commodity-related currencies gain against the dollar.
Crude oil pulled away from this week’s 10-month lows, although prices were still set for their worst first-half performance since 1997.
The slide in energy prices worsens the outlook for inflation creating a headache for the world’s major central banks looking to normalize rates after years of ultra-loose policy.
“(The) oil price is the ‘poster child’ for victory of deflation,” analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a note of weekly investment flows.
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