Shares retreated Thursday in Asia after stocks on Wall Street slumped as oil prices spiked at more than USD 110 a barrel. US stocks also sagged due to a report that said inflation was primed to worsen even before the war with Iran sent oil and gas prices spiking. That, and comments from the head of the Federal Reserve, led investors to expect there's less chance of getting the lower interest rates that they love. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 2.5 per cent to 53,875.94 and the Kospi in South Korea lost 1.3 per cent to 5,845.62. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng slipped 0.2 per cent to 25,725.77, while the Shanghai Composite index shed 0.9 per to 4,027.73. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 8,504.20 and Taiwan's Taiex fell 1.2 per cent. Brent crude, the international standard, was trading at USD 111.24 a barrel, up 3.6 per cent from a day earlier. US benchmark crude oil gained 0.8 per cent to USD 96.80 a barrel. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 1.4 per cent and flipped to a loss for the week so ...