NEW YORK (AA) – A sharp decline in oil prices and hints from a Federal Reserve official that the bank could soon raise rates pushed Wall Street lower at the close of markets Wednesday.
Although oil prices recently followed the direction of the dollar, which were affected by the Fed officials' statements, fundamentals returned to the global oil market.
Worries about the glut of supply around the world were revived after Energy Information Administration data revealed U.S. crude oil inventories rose above market expectations.
With fears of global oversupply, oil prices plummeted more than 3 percent.
At the final bell, American benchmark West Texas Intermediate was down 3.3 percent to $44.80 per barrel. International benchmark Brent crude traded at $46.98 a barrel -- a 3.6 percent decline.
Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren hinted in a statement before markets opened that "relatively soon" the central bank's goals of stable prices and maximum sustainable employment would likely to be achieved. "Keeping interest rates low for a long time is not without risks," he added.
The remarks by Rosengren, who is a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, were coupled with substantial losses of oil prices, causing indexes to end the day with losses.
At the close of markets, the Dow Jones fell 53 points to end at 18,400. The S&P 500 was down five points to 2,170 and the Nasdaq lost nine points to finish the day at 5,213.
On a monthly basis, the Dow and the S&P lost 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively. The Nasdaq, however, finished the month with a 1 percent gain.