Oil prices extended their slide on Monday amid signs of weak fuel demand and boosted by Federal Reserve (Fed) officials on expectations of a weakening interest rate cut.
This could slow growth and limit energy consumption in the world's largest economy.
Meanwhile, Brent crude oil futures fell 7 cents (0.1%) to $82.72 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 5 cents to $78.21 a barrel.
According to Tina Teng, independent analysts say the oil market is shrugging off the effects of the Middle East conflict and turning to the world economic outlook again.
Earlier, China's Producer Price Index (PPI) for April contracted indicating business demand remained sluggish and recent economic data in the US also signaled a decline.
Both benchmarks lost $1 on Friday as Fed officials still debated whether US interest rates are high enough to bring inflation back to 2% to offset gains early last week on fears of supply disruptions from the Israel-Gaza conflict.
However, the crude oil market remains supported by expectations that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) will extend supply cuts in the second half of the year.
Iraq, the second largest OPEC producer is committed to voluntary oil reductions and is keen to work with member countries to achieve more stability in the global oil market.
In early May, OPEC+ reported Iraq pumped its output by 602,000 barrels a day in the first three months of 2024. The group said the country had agreed to compensate with additional production cuts throughout the year.
In the US, the oil rig count lost three to just 496 last week. It is the lowest record since last November.
