©Reuters. A screen shows data on the German DAX index on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on Thursday (photo courtesy of Reuters).
(Reuters) – European stocks edged higher on Friday, on track to set their best weekly performance since November, on natural gas futures falling and economic data upbeat as investors await inflation data in the region.
The European stock index was up 0.1% by 0815 GMT, bringing its weekly gain to 3.4% so far.
All eyes are on Eurozone inflation data for December, due at 10:00 GMT, as economists expect prices to decline year-on-year for the second straight month.
Shell rose 0.4% after the company said profits from its operations in the fourth quarter of last year were likely to rise significantly.
And the energy sector index gained 0.6% as crude prices rose on hopes of a pick-up in demand from China and data showing US fuel inventories shrinking after a winter storm which swept the country at the end of last year.
(Prepared by Yasmine Hussein for the Arab Bulletin – Edited by Mahmoud Abdel-Gawad)
