Equities markets began the day in the green on Thursday but reversed course later. The combined impact of rising oil prices and hawkish Fed-Speak sapped bullish sentiment and drove the S&P 500 down more than 1.0%. Oil prices climbed 2.5% despite easing sanctions on Venezuela. The news is good, but it will be years before Venezuela's oil infrastructure can support large-scale production. WTI has confirmed support at a key level and will likely move higher and underpin inflation.

In other news, Fed chief Jerome Powell says inflation is still too high. In his view, economic growth may have to slow for inflation to hit the 2% target, meaning high rates will be here indefinitely. The risk now is that oil prices will keep the Fed on the brakes, leading to another interest rate hike. In this scenario, more banks fail, and economic slowing could result in a full-blown recession. As it is, the US is only expected to grow by 1.5%, which is far less than the pace of inflation.