Oil declines; Brent holds above $71

Oil rigs

Oil prices edged lower on Monday, after recording strong gains in last week, as investors tracked economic updates and developments related to COVID-19 pandemic.

The international benchmark Brent crude was trading down 0.9% at $71.28 per barrel, at 9.05 am Makkah time.

WTI crude fell 0.7% to $69.12 per barrel.

Investors may have sold off some contracts to take profit when WTI hit $70, Reuters reported, citing Avtar Sandu, a senior commodities manager at Phillips Futures.

Both contracts have risen for the past two weeks as fuel demand is rebounding in the United States and Europe as governments eased COVID-19 restrictions ahead of summer travel.

Meanwhile, analysts expect global oil demand to exceed supplies in the second half, despite a gradual easing of supply cuts by OPEC+ producers.