• West Texas Intermediate declined toward $76 a barrel following three weeks of declines. The dollar rose, with investors seeking havens, as protests over harsh anti-virus curbs spread in cities across the world’s largest crude importer.
• Aside from China, traders were also assessing a US move to grant supermajor Chevron Corp. a license to resume oil production in Venezuela after sanctions had halted all drilling activities almost three years ago. The sanctions relief comes after Norwegian mediators announced the restart of political talks between President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition this weekend.
• Oil’s fall is the latest twist in what’s been a tumultuous year, with volatility driven by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, aggressive central bank tightening to combat inflation, and China’s relentless attempts to eradicate Covid-19. In recent days, European Union diplomats have been locked in talks to try to agree a cap on Russian crude, with negotiations set to resume later on Monday.