LONDON (Reuters) -Oil steadied on Monday, after rising for three straight weeks, as looming supply cuts from Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ producers balanced concern about weakening global growth that may dampen fuel demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Crude last week jumped more than 6%, a third weekly gain, after OPEC+, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, surprised the market with a new round of production cuts starting in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brent crude\u00a0slipped 3 cents to $85.09 a barrel by 0816 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 8 cents to $80.78.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Those who were bearish are questioning the demand outlook in light of the cuts, whilst clearly those who were bullish are now seeing even a tighter market over the second half,” ING’s head of commodities research Warren Patterson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I am in the latter camp and still see prices moving higher from here as we go through the year.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adding to tightness in supply has been a shutdown of Iraq’s northern exports. Iraq’s federal government and the Kurdish Regional Government signed a temporary agreement last week to restart the flows, but as of Thursday they hadn’t resumed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oil also drew support from a steeper-than-expected drop in\u00a0U.S. crude\u00a0inventories last week, as well as a decline in gasoline and distillate stocks, hinting at rising demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In global financial markets, a U.S. inflation report to be released on Wednesday could help investors gauge the near-term trajectory for interest rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite expectations that the Federal Reserve could slow down rate hikes because of the recent banking crisis, borrowing costs could still climb if inflation remains strong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“This week’s U.S. data could be a drag on sentiment if strong numbers reinforce expectations of the Fed continuing on its tightening path, while weak numbers point to economic pain, which means either way, risk-aversion grows,” said Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda (NASDAQ:VNDA) Insights.<\/p>\n