Oil held steady as investors tracked China's plans to support its economy while a prior rally in wider markets ran out of steam.

Benchmark Brent futures traded near $76.50 a barrel after climbing more than 2% last week as China cut interest rates and hinted that further support would be delivered. Still, Friday's State Council meeting in Beijing ended with little detail on any new measures to revive the world's largest crude importer.

Crude trading volumes, especially for West Texas Intermediate, may be lower than usual on Monday as the US marks the Juneteenth holiday.

Despite Monday's lackluster price movement, there have been steady gains for gasoline and diesel as a spate of refinery outages ramps up premiums for the fuels. That's also helping to boost demand for some Middle Eastern crudes.

Oil has retreated in the first half of the year as China's recovery from Covid Zero missed lofty expectations while global supplies, including from Russia, remained abundant. In a bid to stem the slide, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies have announced production cuts, including a voluntary reduction from Saudi Arabia of 1 million barrels a day in July.

Both OPEC and the Paris-based International Energy Agency have forecast that the market will tighten substantially in the second half. Still, crude stockpiles at the key US hub of Cushing, Oklahoma, have hit a two-year high.

Brent for August settlement slipped 0.3% to $76.39 a barrel at 10:34 a.m. in London. WTI for July delivery fell 0.4% to $71.47 a barrel. As oil eased, other leading industrial commodities including copper also dropped.

Source : Bloomberg