Inflation slowed to a 6% rate in the year ending in February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday, a welcome sign as the Federal Reserve prepares to meet for a monetary policy meeting.

The much-anticipated numbers from the consumer price index shows that, while inflation is much too high, it is cooling in response to the Fed's aggressive interest rate hikes.

Inflation had been running at 6.4% the month before. Tuesday’s report marks seven straight months of declines in annual inflation after the rate peaked at a whopping 9.1% in June.

Oil prices dropped for a second session on Monday after the head of the world's top exporter, Saudi Aramco, said it is ready to ramp up output while production at several offshore U.S. Gulf of Mexico platforms is resuming after a brief outage last week.

Brent crude futures fell 27 cents, or 0.3%, to $97.88 a barrel by 0034 GMT after settling 1.5% lower on Friday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $91.87 a barrel, down 22 cents, or 0.2%, following a 2.4% drop in the previous session.

Shell reported a record-breaking year of profit, posting the highest annual earnings in the company’s 115-year history. 

"This was a truly stunning set of numbers from Shell, way ahead of what forecasts had penciled in and the highest profit in its entire history," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

Europe's largest energy company reported 2022 adjusted earnings of $39.87 billion, a 109% increase from the prior year. The number broke the previous record of $31 billion set in 2008.

Exxon Mobil posted record annual profits in 2022 as consumers globally struggled with high prices for gasoline, home heating and consumer goods.

The energy giant brought in $55.7 billion in annual profits, exceeding its previous record of $45.22 billion in 2008, when a barrel of oil soared close to $150.

Exxon Mobil posted record annual profits in 2022 as consumers globally struggled with high prices for gasoline, home heating and consumer goods.

The energy giant brought in $55.7 billion in annual profits, exceeding its previous record of $45.22 billion in 2008, when a barrel of oil soared close to $150.

Exxon CEO and Chairman Darren Woods pushed back against the White House on Tuesday on CNBC amid criticism of oil companies increasing profits.

The White House issued a statement Friday criticizing oil companies for allegedly using profits to pay shareholders rather than increasing output. The announcement came after Chevron announced their profits nearly doubled in 2022. Chevron also said it would triple its spending on share repurchases, according to Reuters.

The Kremlin banned exports of Russian crude oil and refined products to foreign buyers that adhere to a price cap, but Moscow held back from the most drastic retaliatory measures that could have further disrupted global oil supplies. 

The restriction on Russian crude exports will begin on Feb. 1 and last until at least July 2023, according to the decree published Tuesday. The ban on oil products will start at a date to be determined by the Russian government, but not earlier than Feb. 1. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared Tuesday that his nation will ban crude oil and petroleum product exports to countries that impose a price cap on Russian crude.

Russia’s announcement of an oil export ban on countries that abide by a G-7 price cap is the latest sign that we’ve entered a new era for global energy markets, according to analysts.

But they also note it’s unlikely to have a short-term impact on oil prices, with markets taking their cues from data and concrete actions rather than words.

Brutally high oil and gas prices were the talk of the town in 2022 and one of the largest contributing factors to sky-high inflation. The thing is: When you reach the top, there’s nowhere to go but down. And that’s exactly where oil is going.

The price of crude has taken a drastic plunge amid worries about slowing demand for fuel and the prospect of further tightening by the Federal Reserve leading to recession. But at the same time, shares of energy companies have continued to climb.