|
Brent crude futures fell 25 cents, or 0.2%, to $86.14 a barrel
by 1150 GMT after a 2.2% gain on Friday. U.S. West Texas
Intermediate crude was down 25 cents, or 0.3%, at $79.47 after a
2.1% gain in the previous session.
"Crude prices are softening as energy traders anticipate a
potentially weakening crude demand outlook as a pivotal
inflation report could force the Fed to tighten policy much more
aggressively," said Edward Moya, senior analyst at OANDA,
referring to U.S. consumer price data due on Feb. 14.
"This week could deliver a make or break moment in how bad a
recession Wall Street prices in."
The U.S. Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates to rein
in inflation, leading to concerns that the move would slow
economic activity and demand for oil.
Additionally, supply concerns were relieved somewhat as a cargo
of Azeri crude set sail from Turkey's Ceyhan port on Monday, the
first since a devastating earthquake in the region on Feb. 6.
Ceyhan is the storage and loading point for pipelines that carry
oil from Azerbaijan and Iraq.
Oil prices had risen on Friday after Russia, the world's
third-largest oil producer, said it would cut crude production
in March by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd), or about 5% of
output, in retaliation against western curbs imposed on its
exports in response to the Ukraine conflict.
Both the Brent and WTI contracts rose more than 8% last week,
buoyed by optimism over demand recovery in China after COVID
curbs were scrapped in December.
(Reporting by Noah BrowningAdditional reporting by Florence Tan
in Singapore and Emily Chow in Kuala LumpurEditing by David
Goodman)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
