Wall Street stocks retreated on Wednesday on festering worries about inflation as oil prices jumped and the White House warned of another gloomy consumer price report later this week.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate finished at a 13-year high amid worries about tight petroleum product inventories at the start of the summer driving season.

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters the Biden administration expects Friday's consumer price index to be "elevated."

The comments bolster expectations for more Federal Reserve monetary tightening, reflected in a jump in the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note back above three percent.

"The combination of higher crude prices and yields ticking up again has people concerned," said Art Hogan, strategist at National Securities.

The Dow Jones dropped 0.8 percent to 32,910.

The S&P 500 shed 1.1 percent to 4,115, while the Nasdaq declined 0.7 percent to 12,088.

Among individual companies, Novavax jumped 5.4 percent after a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended the company's Covid-19 vaccine, a late-runner in the fight against the virus.

Roku surged 9.1 percent on speculation the streaming platform could be acquired by Netflix, while Netflix itself rose 2.1 percent.

Intel shed 5.3 percent on worries that China lockdowns could pinch the chip maker's results. (AFP)