Oil edges lower, pressured by strong dollar, China economic woes

By Sibel Morrow

Oil prices saw limited losses but maintained 10-month highs on Monday, as a strong US dollar and persistent concerns over China’s economy weighed on prices, while OPEC+ output cuts limited further declines.

International benchmark crude Brent traded at $90.44 per barrel at 10.13 a.m. local time (0713 GMT), a 0.23% loss from the closing price of $90.65 a barrel in the previous trading session on Friday.

The American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at the same time at $87.02 per barrel, down 0.56% from the previous session's close of $87.51 per barrel.

Both benchmarks climbed over 2% last week on supply risks triggered by output curbs announced by the world's biggest producers, Russia and Saudi Arabia.

"Tightness in the physical market is also providing some support. US inventories fell 6,307 kbbl last week to hit their lowest level since December," according to Daniel Hynes, a commodity strategist at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group.

However, Hynes said concerns about China’s poor economic growth weighed on sentiment across commodities.

On Thursday, the Chinese yuan sank to its lowest level against the US dollar in 16 years, echoing mounting skepticism about China's economy and financial markets.

The rising trend of the US dollar since mid-July has been aiding dollar-indexed crude prices. However, markets remain wary ahead of US inflation data due on Wednesday, which could influence the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate actions.

According to analysts, this week's inflation figures will show the impact of supply interruptions in the energy industry. The Fed, meanwhile, is widely expected to keep the policy rate unchanged at its September meeting.