DTN Oil Update

Karim Bastati
DTN Analyst

VIENNA (DTN) -- Oil prices steadied Monday morning as market participants geared up for a macro-data heavy week ending in a meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on Friday. This came after the largest weekly drop in oil futures prices since late June.

NYMEX-traded WTI for September delivery rose $0.35 to trade near $64.23 bbl, and ICE Brent for October delivery gained $0.35 to $66.94 bbl.

September RBOB gasoline futures added $0.0029 to $2.0890 gallon, while the front-month ULSD futures contract slid $0.0078 to trade near $2.2715 gallon.

The U.S. Dollar Index strengthened by 0.291 points to 98.300.

Last week's announcement of the first direct presidential-level talks between the U.S. and Russia since the invasion of Ukraine eased concerns over supply constraints brought upon tougher sanctions on Russian energy trade. The start of higher tariffs and a series of weak macroeconomic indicator releases, meanwhile, fanned demand growth woes.

Updated monthly oil market forecasts from the Energy Information Administration, International Energy Agency and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are all scheduled for release this week. Given OPEC's commitment to production hikes, the broad institution of tariffs and macroeconomic indicators pointing to slowing growth, the newest reports by the main forecasting agencies are likely to contain bearish revisions, while being unlikely to fully incorporate the risk of increased Russian oil supply.