Quick Overview

• Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said on Wednesday the U.S. economy can handle a housing slowdown and that oil-price pass-through to inflation had been manageable.
  
  

• Brazil's central bank cut its benchmark lending rate on Wednesday to a five-year low of 15.75 percent from 16.50 percent, the seventh straight cut since September to help bolster the economy as inflation eases.
  
  
  

• The U.S. Labor Department said the consumer price index was up 0.4% in March and up 3.4% from a year ago. Excluding food and energy, prices were up 0.3% in March and up 2.1% YoY.
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said that:
  Supplies of crude oil were down 800,000 barrels to 345.2 million barrels.
  Supplies of unleaded gasoline were down 5.4 million barrels
  Supplies of heating oil were down 300,000 barrels.
  
  

• London copper inventories are at 119,050 tons.