Crude oil futures were slightly higher in the Asian trading session as Brent jumped to hold on to gains earlier in the week.
Meanwhile, Brent crude oil traded at $83.49 per barrel, down slightly from its close of $83.36 per barrel on Monday. WTI crude oil was traded at $79.06 per barrel which was also down from $79.12 per barrel yesterday.
Both benchmarks have been struggling to find a clearer direction over the past few sessions. This week it will be presented with monthly reports issued by OPEC and IEA. Meanwhile, the US will publish its inflation data on Wednesday.
The April CPI figure is expected to affect the timing of interest rate cuts by the Fed as they remain high for longer.
According to the opinion of RoboForex analyst, Andrey Goilov said that the latest statement from the representative of the Fed has led to the expectation that interest rates may remain raised for a longer period.
The prospect of higher rates may further dampen economic growth and negatively impact fuel demand from US consumers.
He also said that the latest US data showed a significant decline in US consumer confidence and reinforced fears that the economy may lose its growth momentum.
Additionally, policy uncertainty by OPEC earlier in the week has dragged down crude oil prices. However, the market improved again after Iraq agreed to support an extension to the current production policy.
It also remained buoyed as surveys continued to show OPEC+ moving closer to its overall production ceiling as Russia curbed crude output as it cut export activity.
On the downside, sluggish margins could increase the prospect of refiners cutting crude oil production.
