Oil Prices Stable on Confidence in Demand Recovery

Oil prices were little changed on Monday, trading in a tight range as European economic reopenings offset gloom from surging Covid-19 cases in Asia, fresh restrictions and underwhelming Chinese manufacturing data.
Brent crude slipped 1 cent, or less than 0.1%, to $68.70 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate crude edged down by a similar amount to $65.36, CNBC reported. 
Both contracts have risen more than 30% since the start of the year, and Brent remains close to the key $70-a-barrel threshold. 
“The fact that prices remained relatively stable during this rather turbulent five-day period indicates that the confidence in a healthy oil market remains intact and unless something unpredictably negative occurs any downside potential will be limited,” said PVM Oil analyst Tamas Varga.
The promise of strong economic growth has kept oil prices high in recent weeks, although the pace of inflation has kept many investors concerned about the possible rise of interest rates and fall of consumer spending.
Investors also remained cautious on worries that the highly transmissible coronavirus variant first detected in India is spreading to other countries.
Some Indian states said on Sunday they would extend Covid-19 lockdowns to help contain the pandemic, which has killed more than 270,000 people in the country.
Singapore is preparing to close schools this week, meanwhile Japan has declared a state of emergency in three more prefectures to contain outbreaks. Disappointing economic data from China also added to pressure. 
China’s factories slowed their output growth in April and retail sales significantly missed expectations as officials warned of new problems affecting the recovery in the world’s second-largest economy.