On the corporate front, British oil giant BP Plc ( BP ) will pay $7 billion Oklahoma's Devon Energy Corp.'s ( DVN ) assets in Brazil, the Gulf of Mexico, and Azerbaijan. Brent crude is down slightly in early morning trade Thursday, as worries about inflation in China increased concerns about global economic growth prospects. China's National Bureau of Statistics reported that inflationary pressure reached a 16-month high, as consumer prices rose 2.7% in February from a year ago, slightly above what most Wall Street analysts had been expecting.