TSX futures slip ahead of inflation data

(Reuters) - Futures tracking Canada's main stock index slipped on Wednesday as prices of precious metals dropped, while investors awaited domestic inflation data to gauge the future path of interest rate hikes.

Futures on the S&P/TSX index slipped 0.1% at 07:01 a.m. ET as U.S. stock index futures also wobbled. [.N]

Data at 8:30 a.m. ET is expected to show consumer prices rose 6.8% in September after posting a 7.0% growth in the previous month, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

A recent cooling of inflation numbers have pushed traders to bet on a smaller interest rate hike by the Bank of Canada when it meets next week. The central bank hiked its policy rate by 75 bps to 3.25% last month, and investors forecast a 70% chance of a 50 bps rate hike as its next move.

On Tuesday, the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index rose 1% to hit a two-week high, driven by earnings optimism in the United States. [.TO]

Shares of precious metal miners will be in focus when markets open as gold and silver prices fell against a stronger dollar after Treasury yields rose on bets of a hawkish Federal Reserve. [GOL/]

Spot gold and silver prices weakened by more than 1% each.

($1 = 1.3729 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)