Oil prices fell on Monday, ahead of an upcoming meeting of the Federal Reserve, as investors try to determine the US central bank's inclination to raise interest rates, while concerns related to the growth of fuel demand in China and increased Russian crude supplies affected the market.
By 0058 GMT, Brent crude futures were down 29 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $74.50 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 24 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $69.93 a barrel.
The two benchmarks recorded the second consecutive weekly decline last week after disappointing Chinese economic data raised concerns about demand growth in the world's largest importer of crude, which outweighed the price recovery due to Saudi Arabia's decision to cut production by one million barrels per day in July.
Most of the market players expect the US Central Bank to keep interest rates unchanged at the conclusion of the monetary policy meeting next Wednesday. Higher interest rates boost the greenback, making dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies and putting pressure on prices.
Goldman Sachs cut its forecast for oil prices due to higher-than-expected supply from Russia and Iran, and raised its forecast for supply from the two countries and Venezuela in 2024 by 800,000 barrels per day.
