WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil traded lower on Monday after its biggest weekly drop since end-June amidst concerns about higher U.S. tariffs, OPEC's September output hike decision and rising ceasefire hopes in Ukraine.
Benchmark Brent crude futures fell half a percent to $66.24 in European trade, while WTI crude futures were down 0.6 percent at $63.52.
Traders eagerly looked forward to U.S. President Trump's scheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin on Friday in Alaska to assess potential tariff moves by Trump on India and China.
Trump suggested that a potential agreement to end the more than three-year old conflict in Ukraine could see the swapping of territory by both sides.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Putin of trying to 'legalize the occupation' of Kyiv's territories and insisted that any decisions taken that are without Ukraine are at the same time decisions against peace.
Investors also await this week's U.S. July CPI inflation report, which will shape the Federal Reserve's rate trajectory and influence investment strategies across asset classes.
Analysts expect the core inflation to rise at an annual pace of 3.0 percent, well above the Federal Reserve target of 2 percent.
Meanwhile, as the August 12 deadline for a deal between the U.S. and China loomed, Trump said he hoped China would quadruple its soybean orders from the United States to reduce its trade surplus with the U.S.
Some economists are cautioning that Trump's sweeping new tariffs on U.S. trade partners increase the risks that the U.S. economy could enter a period of stagflation, characterized by rising prices, slowing growth, and increasing unemployment.
UBS has lowered its year-end Brent crude forecast to $62 a barrel from $68, citing higher supply from South America and resilient output from sanctioned countries.
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