Oil Prices Surge, Fueling Wall Street Woes and Rate Hike Expectations

Wall Street futures declined on Tuesday due to rising oil prices and concerns about inflation. The S&P 500 fell 0.2%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped 0.3%. Nasdaq futures slid 0.1%.

The increase in oil prices is attributed to the disruption of Saudi Arabia's oil exports following an attack on a key pipeline last week. Benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.03 to $103.61 a barrel, while Brent crude gained 0.3% to $106.94 a barrel.

The higher oil prices have sent the average cost of gasoline across the country soaring to $4.33 per gallon from $3.18 a year ago. This has increased expectations that the Federal Reserve will hike its main interest rate for the first time in three years to combat high inflation.