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China halved stamp duty on stock trading in its latest attempt
to boost struggling markets. The market is also keeping an eye
on Tropical Storm Idalia and any risk it poses to oil and gas
output in the U.S. Gulf.
Brent crude slipped 15 cents, or 0.2%, to $84.33 a barrel by
1045 GMT, with an earlier rally fizzling out just short of the
$85 mark. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 5 cents to
$79.88.
The focus today is on "China actions to support its economy,
Tropical Storm Idalia heading for Florida and whether Brent can
regain momentum on a break above $85," said Ole Hansen, head of
commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.
Idalia was intensifying as it approaches Cuba, according to the
latest update. Its most likely impact is a day or two of power
outages, said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore. That "should see
some short-term support for the oil price", he said.
Brent and U.S. crude posted a second week of losses on Friday
after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the U.S. central bank may
need to raise rates further to cool still-too-high inflation.
Still, CMC markets analyst Tina Teng said a soft-landing
scenario for the U.S. economy buoyed energy markets on Monday,
despite the Federal Reserve's hawkish stance on rate hikes.
Oil prices have remained above $80 a barrel with support from
falling oil inventories and supply cuts from the OPEC+ group of
oil producers.
Saudi Arabia is expected to extend a voluntary oil output cut of
1 million barrels a day into October, analysts told Reuters last
week, as the kingdom seeks to provide further support for the
market.
(Additional reporting by Florence Tan and Sudarshan Varadhan;
editing by Jason Neely, Kirsten Donovan and Louise Heavens)
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