Oil prices rise as investors look for signs that US rate cuts will begin

By Katya Golubkova

TOKYO (Reuters) – Oil prices rose in early trading on Monday as investors watched for signs of a rate-cutting cycle expected to begin in September.

Brent crude prices rose 48 cents, or 0.57%, to $83.10 a barrel by 00:35 GMT, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 42 cents, or 0.52%, to U.S. $80.55.

“Since the June FOMC meeting, inflation and labor market data have signaled that disinflation and labor market rebalancing are in place, which we hope will allow the Fed to begin its interest rate cutting cycle in September,” ANZ Research said in a note.

The US Federal Reserve will next hold a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on interest rates on July 30-31, at which investors expect the Fed to keep rates unchanged while looking for any sign of a cut. at the end of the year. .

On the political front, US President Joe Biden abandoned his re-election bid on Sunday under pressure from fellow Democrats and supported Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s candidate to face Republican Donald Trump in November.

China’s slower-than-expected economic growth of 4.7% in the second quarter raised concerns last week about the country’s oil demand and continues to weigh on prices.

On Sunday, China released a policy document outlining known ambitions, from developing advanced industries to improving the business environment, and analysts detected no sign of imminent structural changes in the world’s second-largest economy.

Publication of the 60-point document follows last week’s closed-door meeting of the Communist Party’s Central Committee, which takes place approximately every five years.

(Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Tom Hogue)