WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices were subdued on Monday after climbing on Friday on hopes about higher refinery demand from China.
Benchmark Brent crude prices dipped 0.2 percent to $76.43 a barrel, while WTI crude futures were down 0.2 percent at $71.77.
Both contracts rose over 2 percent last week on optimism about OPEC+ output cuts and data showing the seventh straight drop in the number of oil and gas rigs operating in the United States.
Prices were subdued today on concerns about China's economic recovery after a number of major banks cut their 2023 GDP forecasts for the country.
Meanwhile, hopes for China stimulus faded after Friday's State Council meeting ended with no concrete policies to boost the economy.
A firmer dollar also weighed on oil prices following hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials.
Inflation in key parts of the U.S. service industry 'remains elevated and has not shown signs of easing,' the Fed said in its latest monetary policy report to Congress.
On Friday, Fed Gov. Christopher Waller said that core inflation was not coming down like he expected. Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin also backed the idea of more rate hikes, citing persistent inflation.
Meanwhile, investors await China's June loan prime rate announcement and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's testimonies due this week for clues on the monetary policy path ahead.
The Bank of England meets on Thursday and the central bank is expected to raise interest rates by a quarter point to a 15-year high of 4.75 percent, marking its 13th straight rate rise.
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