Investing.com -- Crude futures fell slightly on Monday, extending losses from late last week, as OPEC left its world oil demand growth forecasts unchanged amid further evidence of declines in Chinese crude imports.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude for July delivery traded between $48.16 and $49.27 a barrel before closing at $48.86, down 0.21 or 0.42% on the session. On the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), brent crude for August delivery wavered between $49.62 and $50.78 a barrel, before settling at $50.32, down 0.22 or 0.44% on the day.
U.S. crude futures have surged more than 85% since falling to 13-year lows at $26.05 a barrel on February 11.
On Monday, OPEC left its 2016 global oil demand growth forecast unchanged at 1.20 million barrels per day to 94.18 million, amid increases in India. It came as China refinery output fell to 10.46 million bpd, its lowest daily average since last September. At the same time, oil imports in China declined to four-month lows, amid signals that demand could level off over the next several months.
Meanwhile, OPEC supply growth estimates also remained steady at a contraction of 0.74 million bpd, totaling 56.40 million bpd for the year. OPEC expects downward revisions in Canada, Brazil and Colombia to offset gains in the U.S., U.K., Russia and Azerbaijan. In terms of OPEC demand, the 13-nation group left it unchanged at 31.5 million bpd, up 1.8 million bpd from the same month last year.
Also, money managers raised their bullish bets on futures and options in the middle of May to record-high levels, before unloading their net long positions in the final week of the month as futures prices approached $50 a barrels, OPEC said in its Monthly Oil Market Report.
In total, OPEC production fell by 100,000 bpd to 32.361 million bpd, as a series of attacks on oil facilities in Nigeria by 231,000 bpd. Slight increases from Kuwait, Iran and Saudi Arabia were offset by declines in Venezuela and Iraq. For the month, Saudi output rose by 84,000 bpd to 10.241 million bpd.
Last Friday, oil services firm Baker Hughes said the U.S. oil rig count increased by three to 328 for the week ending on June 3. During the previous week, Baker Hughes reported that its weekly rig count moved higher for the first time since last August, providing drillers with some optimism that a prolonged two-year downturn might be on the verge of subsiding. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), meanwhile, reported that crude production nationwide increased by 10,000 barrels per day to 8.745 million bpd for the week ending on June 3, ending a 4-month streak of weekly declines.
Commodity traders continue to await a highly-anticipated interest rate decision by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday afternoon. While the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is not expected to raise short-term interest rates at the meeting, Fed chair Janet Yellen could provide clues on whether the U.S. central bank could lift rates before the end of the fall.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, fell by more than 0.25% to an intraday low of 94.30. The index is down by more than 5% since early-December. Dollar-denominated commodities such as crude become more expensive for foreign purchasers when the dollar appreciates.
Despite the recent upswing in oil prices, crude futures are still down by more than 50% from their peak of $115 a barrel two years ago.