Oil Prices Hold Steady After Sharp Weekly Gains

Investing.com – Oil prices were little changed on Monday amid light trading volume as U.S. crude stabilized after rising nearly 3% last week.

New York-traded were unchanged at $68.72 a barrel by 12:24 PM ET (16:24 GMT).

Meanwhile, , the benchmark for oil prices outside the U.S., rose 18 cents, or 0.24%, to $76.31.

With UK financial markets closed for a bank holiday on Monday, trade volumes were also hit by seasonality as the final week of August is historically the second most-vacationed week of the year, following Christmas.

In an encouraging sign for oil bulls, the U.S. rig count, an early indicator of future output, fell by 9 to last week, according to oilfield services firm Baker Hughes, hinting at a slowdown in production.

That came after data released earlier in the week showed that U.S. crude supplies fell by for the week ended Aug. 17.

But worries that a trade dispute between the U.S. and China would slow economic growth and hurt demand for oil have been at the forefront of the market recently.

Even as U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Monday a in a move designed to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), he offered little hope for a resolution with China, suggesting that it was not currently the right time to hold discussions with Beijing.

In other energy trading, gained 0.16% to $1.9785 a gallon by 12:25 PM ET (16:25 GMT), while advanced 0.32% to $2.21496 a gallon.

Lastly, lost 1.10% to $2.881 per million British thermal units.

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