US stocks retreat on oil price jump, says Fed Chair Jerome Powell

Wall Street stocks retreated Monday, ending last week's rally as oil prices pushed higher and the Federal Reserve's top official delivered hawkish comments on inflation.

Remarks from Baltic states favoring an embargo on Russian oil and gas helped push crude prices further above $100 a barrel as analysts see evidence that some petroleum buyers are already "self-sanctioning" and avoiding Russian oil.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the US central bank is prepared to raise interest rates by bigger steps than the quarter-point hike announced last week if that is what's needed to contain "much too high" inflation.

Stocks weakened after Powell's remarks, with some observers viewing them as more hawkish than his statements at last week's news conference.