Not much has happened to oil prices on Monday morning. Macroeconomic concerns and possible further interest rate hikes outweigh the prospect of possible supply reductions to the oil market.

A barrel of the European reference oil, Brent, costs USD 75.49 on Monday morning, compared to USD 75.30 on Friday afternoon. At the same time, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil is trading at USD 70.69 compared to USD 70.56 on Friday afternoon.

Fears of a further decline in oil demand grew after data on Friday showed that inflation in the US still exceeds the US Federal Reserve’s 2-percent target.

This increases expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates further, Reuters writes.

Higher interest rates could strengthen the US dollar and make oil more expensive in other currencies. In addition to high interest rates, this could also contribute to lower demand.

Furthermore, economic data from China, the world’s largest importer of oil, shows that factory activity grew at a slower pace in June.

On the supply side, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus Allies (OPEC+) is expected to cut production in the second half of the year to keep oil prices up.

”OPEC+’s production cuts have kept oil prices at acceptable levels and further cuts may be expected to maintain stability in the crude oil market,” Tina Teng, analyst at CMC Markets, tells Reuters.

Investors are looking ahead to a conference held by OPEC later this week, which could give indications of possible cuts.

In the rest of the commodities market, a troy ounce of gold cost USD 1,919.99 on Monday morning, compared to USD 1,915.66 on Friday afternoon.