What to Watch Thursday: Why the EIA Inventory Report Is Crucial

In 'What to Watch on Wall Street' for Wednesday December 30, New Year’s Eve is right around the corner but traders will get a few reports with clues about the current economic situation. In the morning, MBA mortgage applications are slated to be released and will be followed by the pending home sales index at 10 a.m. and the weekly oil inventory report shortly after. Oil has been the talk on the street. It's been a tough year as oil has been trading at multi-year lows. But a lot of investors are clinging onto hope that Wednesday's report will be bullish, showing another drawdown in crude supplies. Heading into the new year, most traders are expecting oil prices to show some gains on prospects of colder weather. Many analysts though are saying 2016 will be challenging for oil futures as global demand is projected to slow down and markets are likely to remain saturated. TheStreet's U-Jin Lee reports from Wall Street.