STOXX 600 down for sixth consecutive session
German yields rise with ECB meet in focus
Telefonica up as Saudi Arabia39;s STC takes stake

Sept 6 Reuters European stocks extended losses for a sixth consecutive session on Wednesday as worries about slowing global growth and higher crude prices spurring inflationary pressures dented sentiment.

The panEuropean STOXX 600 index slipped 0.6 to hit its lowest level in more than a week.

The global mood soured as Brent crude prices jumped to over 90 a barrel on Tuesday after Saudi Arabia and Russia extended their voluntary supply cuts to year end, fuelling worries about persistent price pressures.

While oil prices pulled back slightly, government bond yields continued to rise, with the German 10year yield surging to a twoweek high at 2.65.

Energy prices are big inflationary drivers, and just at the time when the price spiral appears to be moving more obediently downwards, high crude prices could cause upset, noted Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.

The weak sentiment from August spilled into this month on worries about how long the major central banks will keep interest rates elevated amid fresh signs of weakness in Chinese and European economies.

Investors betting against a European Central Bank interest rate increase next week could be underestimating the likelihood of it happening, the ECB39;s governing council member Klaas Knot told Bloomberg.

Money market futures imply traders are…