Brent crude futures gained 15 cents, or 0.2%, to $85.18 a barrel after settling down 37 cents on Friday
Oil rebounded on Monday, with political uncertainty in the U.S. and the Middle East supporting prices, offsetting downward pressure from a stronger dollar and weak demand in top importer China.
Brent crude futures gained 15 cents, or 0.2%, to $85.18 a barrel by 0425 GMT after settling down 37 cents on Friday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude stood at $82.41 a barrel, up 20 cents, or 0.2%.
Oil prices shrugged off the impact from the dollar, which firmed after a failed assassination bid on U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump.
I don’t think you can ignore the uncertainty that the weekend’s assassination attempt will cast across a deeply divided country in the lead-up to the election, said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore.
In the Middle East, the uncertainty around the volatile situation has kept the geopolitical premium in oil higher.
Oil markets are also broadly underpinned by supply cuts from OPEC+ with Iraq’s oil ministry saying it will compensate for any overproduction since the beginning of 2024.
Last week, Brent dropped more than 1.7% after four weeks of gains while West Texas Intermediate futures slipped 1.1% as a decline in China’s crude imports, the world’s top importer, countered robust summer consumption in the US.
While fundamentals are still supportive, there are growing demand concerns, largely emanating from China, ING analysts led by Warren Patterson said in a note.
China’s crude oil imports dropped 2.3% in the first half of this year to 11.05 million barrels a day, amid disappointing fuel demand and as independent refiners cut output due to weak profit margins.
Crude throughput at Chinese refineries dropped 3.7% in June from a year earlier to 14.19 million barrels per day, the year’s lowest so far, customs data showed on Monday.
China’s economy slowed in the second quarter as a protracted property downturn and job insecurity weighed on domestic demand, keeping alive expectations Beijing will need to unleash more stimulus.
