(New York) Crude ended lower on Monday in weak trading as London remained closed for Easter Monday as investors remained concerned about future demand.
A barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in June fell 1.10% to 84.18 dollars.
Its American equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for delivery in May, fell 1.18% to 79.74 dollars.
Both Brent and WTI, which have been rising for three weeks, posted a weekly increase of more than 6% last week after Saudi Arabia and its OPEC + allies announced a cut in crude production. of more than one million barrels per day from May.
In addition to this decline in profit-taking, brokers remained cautious “seeking more clarity on the outlook for global growth” and therefore on the demand for black gold, underlined Edward Moya of Oanda.
The US jobs report released on Friday showed a still strong labor market, which could prompt the Federal Reserve (Fed) to raise interest rates yet again, a move that could slow the economy.
A rebound in the greenback, which gained more than 1% according to the Dollar Index, was also an additional factor in explaining the fall in oil prices, while oil is traded in dollars.
For Edward Oanda, the US indicators of the week, namely the consumer price index, retail sales and consumer confidence, could give clues on the evolution of demand for crude.
On a geopolitical level, the heightened tensions between China and the United States did not encourage investor morale.
Over the weekend, China launched military exercises to encircle Taiwan while a US destroyer conducted a “freedom of navigation operation” in an area of the South China Sea claimed by Beijing on Monday.