Oil futures inched lower on Monday after recording their largest weekly gain in three months on Friday, as traders await key supply data due out later this week.
Price action
-
West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery
CL00,
+0.20%CLQ24,
-0.06%
shed 13 cents, or 0.2%, to trade at $73.73 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. -
September Brent crude
BRN00,
+0.23%BRNU23,
+0.23%
the global benchmark, shed 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $78.40 per ounce on ICE Futures Europe. -
August gasoline
RBQ23,
+0.51%
traded little changed at $2.59 a gallon, while August heating oil
HOQ23,
+0.67%
rose nearly 0.1% at $2.56 a gallon. -
August natural gas
NGQ23,
+3.87%
rose 2.3% to $2.64 per million British thermal units.
Market drivers
Oil prices retreated on Monday after seeing their best weekly gain since April while rising for a second week in a row.
Oil supply cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, including an extension of Saudi Arabia’s decision to extend its production cuts through August, continue to support prices, while “traders are keeping a close eye on the Chinese economic data and praying that demand will revive to a level that will give a boost to oil prices,” said Naeem Aslam, chief investment officer at Zaye Capital Markets.
“So far, it is very clear that there are more sellers in the market who find every opportunity to sell oil whenever they see that weaker fundamentals are emerging, and to counterbalance that, OPEC is left with no other choice but to cut oil supply more,” Aslam said in a market update.
He said that oil prices this week are “more likely to consolidate, while investors hope to see a lower reading on the U.S. CPI data, which would help Americans turbocharge economic activity.”
Among the oil-related reports this week, the Energy Information Administration will release its monthly Short-term Energy Outlook on Tuesday, while separate monthly oil reports from the International Energy Agency and OPEC are set for release on Thursday.