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Brent crude futures fell 22 cents, or 0.26%, to $85.96 a barrel
by 1043 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 16
cents, or 0.2%, at $80.30.
Bearish sentiment surrounded a contraction in China's exports
and imports in January and February, including crude imports.
The decline came despite a lifting of COVID-19 restrictions,
pointing to weakness in foreign demand.
"Given the high inflation in the U.S. and Europe, demand from
there should keep weakening, which also dampens processing
demand in China," said Iris Pang, ING's chief economist for
Greater China.
Price support, meanwhile, was provided by supply concerns.
Chevron Chief Executive Mike Wirth on Monday told at a Houston
conference that there is "not a lot of swing capacity", making
the global market vulnerable to any unexpected supply
disruption.
"The key unknown for 2023 will be the disruption to Russia's oil
and refined product exports," Commonwealth Bank of Australia
analyst Vivek Dhar said in a note.
U.S. crude inventories could register their first decrease in 10
weeks, a Reuters poll showed before official data is published
this week. [EIA/S]
The American Petroleum Institute's weekly report is due at 2130
GMT on Tuesday, with Energy Information Administration data
following at 1530 GMT on Wednesday.
The market will also look for direction from U.S. Federal
Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's testimony before the Senate
Banking Committee at 1500 GMT on Tuesday.
The focus will be on whether he remains confident that the Fed
is on the right path to keep inflation on a steady decline
towards its 2% target.
(Reporting by Rowena EdwardsAdditional reporting by Florence Tan
and Trixie Yap in SingaporeEditing by David Goodman)
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