May 15 (Reuters) - Futures for Canada's main stock index

ticked slightly higher on Wednesday, supported by a rise in

commodity prices, while investors remained cautious ahead of

crucial U.S. consumer prices data that could shed light on the

interest rate cut timeline.

June futures on the S&P/TSX index were up 0.2% at

6:40 a.m. ET (10:40 GMT).

U.S. consumer prices data, due 8:30 a.m. ET will show

whether the soft landing hopes that have fueled recent gains in

equities are justified.

Analysts polled by Reuters expect core CPI to rise by 0.3%

in the month, down from 0.4% in March, for an annual gain of

3.6%, down from 3.8%.

The U.S. retail sales data for April and figures on Canada's

manufacturing sales for March are also due at the same time.

Meanwhile, the energy and materials

stocks are expected to rise at open, buoyed by higher commodity

prices.

Gold prices climbed, and London copper touched a more than

two-year high, aided by a weaker U.S. dollar.

Crude prices also rose on expectations for higher demand as

the U.S. dollar weakened and a report showed U.S. crude and

gasoline inventories fell.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index

ended down 15.83 points, or 0.1%, at 22,243.34 on

Tuesday, as oil prices weighed on energy shares.

Dow e-minis were up 0.06% at 6:40 a.m. ET, S&P 500

e-minis were up 0.04% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis

were down 0.05%.

COMMODITIES AT 6:40 a.m. ET

Gold futures: $2,375.6; +0.7%

US crude: $78.1; +0.1%

Brent crude: $82.43; +0.1%

($1= C$1.3632)