Oil Prices Drop Despite Rekindled Rate Cut Hopes

Crude oil prices inched lower earlier today on disappointing Chinese data, despite an injection of bullishness from Fed chairman Jerome Powell, who signaled the U.S. central bank was warming up to the idea of interest rate cuts. China released its latest CPI data today, showing a smaller-than-expected price increase and fueling concern about the strength of consumer demand in the world’s largest oil importer. On the other hand, oil prices benefited from the American Petroleum Institute’s latest inventory estimate, which showed…