Oil prices hold steady Monday morning with slight fluctuations as stalled negotiations at the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and OPEC+ allies keep the market in suspense.

A barrel of European reference oil Brent trades Monday morning for USD 75.41 against USD 75.56 Friday afternoon. US benchmark crude West Texas Intermediate sells at the same time for USD 74.43 against USD 74.61 Friday afternoon.

The upward momentum behind oil prices was disturbed by the cartel's failure to reach an accord last week about extending output curbs by another eight months.

According to Reuters, investors expect price volatility to continue until OPEC reaches agreement.

"On the surface it looks like it should support prices, but the risk remains that a complete breakdown will result in a price war not dissimilar to last year," says Howie Lee, an economist at Singapore's OCBC bank, to Reuters, adding that the likelihood the the of the latter outcome is slim.

On the other hand, the outlook to slowing fuel demand tied to rising coronavirus infections numbers and the spread of the Delta variant seems to offset anticipated tighter supply, G20 countries warned Saturday.

"We've not yet seen the impact but at this rate, it will hit demand sooner or later," a Singapore-based oil trader tells Reuters.

WTI futures appreciate for the third consecutive week following an optimistic report from the US Energy Information Administration from last week showing a fall in domestic crude and gasoline stockpiles at the same time as gasoline demand hit the highest level since 2019, Reuters writes.

Delta variant cases in the US are increasing dramatically in the US, which has now reports the highest number of new registered infections since May, writes Bloomberg News.

Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has asked the UK population to be extra careful when national pandemic restrictions are lifted in mid-July.

According to Bloomberg, investors are also waiting on reports from both the International Energy Agency's and OPEC that are expected to be published Thursday.

English Edit: Daniel Frank Christensen

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