London — 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 are 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 normalise 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. Investors were beginning to shift allocations accordingly and moving out of assets typically in favour when prices are rising, such as inflation-protected US Treasury funds and bank loans. Elsewhere inflows into equities slowed with some investors moving into laggard energy sh...
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