Oil Prices Dip As Further Interest Rate Hikes Loom

Oil prices slumped by 2% early on Thursday after Fed Chair Jerome Powell told Congress that further interest rate hikes are coming in the second half of the year after a pause last week. As of 8:11 a.m. EDT on Thursday, ahead of EIA’s weekly inventory report, the U.S. benchmark, WTI Crude, was trading at $71.12, down by 1.92% on the day. The international benchmark, Brent Crude, was falling by 1.84% and traded at $75.67. On Wednesday, Brent settled at above $77, the highest settlement since May 24, as the U.S. dollar fell. But prices resumed…