NEW YORK
\nOil prices eased on Monday as worries about demand in top importer China offset supportive U.S. economic news, OPEC+ supply restraint and ongoing Middle East tensions.
\nBrent futures fell 18 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $84.85 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped 30 cents, or 0.4%, to settle at $81.91.
\n\u201cChinese data including refinery runs and crude imports are not supportive,\u201d said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. \u201cBut demand growth elsewhere is still healthy.\u201d
\nChina\u2019s economy grew much slower than expected in the second quarter as a protracted property downturn and job insecurity knocked the wind out of a fragile recovery, keeping alive expectations Beijing will need to unleash even more stimulus.
\nChina\u2019s refinery output fell 3.7% in June from a year earlier down for a third month on planned maintenance, while lower processing margins and lacklustre fuel demand pushed independent plants to cut output.
\nIn the U.S., the market focused on the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, which some say could boost his re-election chances.
\nFederal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said inflation readings for the second quarter do \u201cadd somewhat to confidence\u201d that the pace of price increases is returning to the U.S. central bank\u2019s target in a sustainable fashion, remarks that suggest a turn to interest rate cuts may not be far off.
\nThe Fed hiked rates aggressively in 2022 and 2023 to tame a surge in inflation. Borrowing costs rose for consumers and businesses, slowing economic growth and reducing demand for oil.
\nLower interest rates could boost oil demand.
\nMarkets are pricing in a 94.4% chance of the Fed cutting rates by at least 25 basis points in September, CME\u2019s FedWatch Tool showed, after last week\u2019s news that June consumer prices fell on a monthly basis for the first time in four years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEW YORK Oil prices eased on Monday as worries about demand in top importer China offset supportive U.S. economic news, OPEC+ supply restraint and ongoing Middle East tensions. Brent futures fell 18 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $84.85 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped 30 cents, or 0.4%, to settle […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":416364,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-418863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n