Investing.com - Crude oil prices opened weaker in Asia on Monday as investors noted sharp reaction to President Donald Trump's move to bar travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. with markets in China, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore shut to mark the Lunar New Year.
The seven countries cited in his executive order—Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somali, Sudan, Syria and Yemen—as being part of a restrictive travel regime already in place under former president Barack Obama. But Trump's order sparked protests at airports over what was seen as targeting a religion for exclusion and by corporate leaders, including strong statements from Silicon Valley companies that have pledged support for the American Civil Liberties Union, which has filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the order, with some executives joining protesters at airports in San Francisco and New York.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for delivery in March eased 0.49% to $52.94 a barrel. On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for March delivery was last quoted down 0.22% to $55.41 a barrel.
In the week ahead, market participants will eye fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products on Tuesday and Wednesday to gauge the strength of demand in the world’s largest oil consumer. Traders will also continue to pay close attention to comments from global oil producers for further evidence that they are complying with their agreement to reduce output this year.
Last week, oil futures finished lower on Friday, logging a modest weekly loss, as investors turned their attention to rising production in the U.S. and away from OPEC and other producers' commitment to curbing global oversupply.
Prices dropped to the lowest levels of the session after oilfield services provider Baker Hughes said late Friday that the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. increased by 15 last week, the 12th gain in 13 weeks.
That brought the total count to 566, the most since November 2015.
The data raised concerns that the ongoing rebound in U.S. shale production could derail efforts by other major producers to rebalance global oil supply and demand.
Futures have been trading in a narrow range around the low-to-mid $50s over the past month as sentiment in oil markets has been torn between expectations of a rebound in U.S. shale production and hopes that oversupply may be curbed by output cuts announced by major global producers.
OPEC and non-OPEC countries have made a strong start to lowering their oil output under the first such pact in more than a decade as global producers look to reduce oversupply and support prices.
January 1 marked the official start of the deal agreed by OPEC and non-OPEC member countries such as Russia in November last year to reduce output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day to 32.5 million for the next six months.
The deal, if carried out as planned, should reduce global supply by about 2%.