WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices traded slightly higher on Monday despite the strength of the dollar and concerns about demand in top importer China.
Benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.2 percent to $85.22 a barrel while WTI crude futures were up 0.2 percent at $81.19.
Expectations surrounding possible Fed rate cuts and the volatile situation in the Middle East continue to provide a geopolitical premium for oil, offsetting concerns about China's economic recovery.
Official data showed that China's Q2 GDP rose by 4.7 percent in the second quarter, down from the 5.3 percent year-on-year GDP increase in the first quarter and missing expectations for 5.1 percent growth.
June retail sales also missed estimates, while industrial production beat expectations and urban fixed asset investment for the first six months of the year met expectations.
The data piled pressure on Beijing to boost investor confidence at a twice-a-decade policy meeting.
Meanwhile, the dollar gained as investors weighed the impact of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
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