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Brent crude fell 17 cents, or 0.2%, to $76.44 a barrel by 0944
GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude lost 31
cents, or 0.4%, to $71.47.
Both contracts ended last week with gains of more than 2%.
"(China's) economy is navigating through powerful headwinds,"
said PVM oil analyst Tamas Varga. "The property market has not
healed from last year’s slump, and in May both retail sales and
industrial output came in below expectation."
A number of large banks have cut their forecasts on China's 2023
growth in gross domestic product after May data last week showed
the post-COVID recovery in the world's second-largest economy
was faltering.
China is widely expected to cut its benchmark loan rates on
Tuesday after a similar reduction in medium-term policy loans
last week to shore up a shaky economic recovery.
Sources have told Reuters that China will roll out more stimulus
for its slowing economy this year, but concern over debt and
capital flight will keep the measures targeted on the consumer
and private sectors.
However, China's refinery throughput rose in May to its
second-highest total on record, helping to boost last week's
gains, and U.S. energy firms cut the number of working oil and
natural gas rigs for a seventh week in a row for the first time
since July 2020.
The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output,
fell by eight to 687 in the week to June 16 for the lowest total
since April 2022..
Rising Iranian oil exports also weighed on prices. Iran's crude
exports and oil output have hit record highs in 2023 despite
U.S. sanctions, according to consultants, shipping data and a
source close to the matter, adding to global supply when other
producers are limiting output.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and
allies including Russia this month agreed on a new oil output
deal and the group's biggest producer, Saudi Arabia, also
pledged to make a deep cut to its output in July.
(Reporting by Ahmad GhaddarAdditional reporting by Katya
Golubkova in Tokyo and Emily Chow in SingaporeEditing by David
Goodman)
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