Brent price today

Oil prices rose on Monday after falling for seven consecutive sessions, the longest such period since February 2018.

The market was supported on Monday by reports that Chinese authorities were able to contain a new wave of COVID-19, with no new cases of the coronavirus detected in the country on 23 August. However, the new strain of delta continues to pose a threat to many other countries as well as to global oil demand.

October Brent futures rose $1.2 (1.84%) to $66.38 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London. In the previous session, Brent fell $1.27 (1.9%) to $65.18 a barrel.

By that time October WTI futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $1.1 per barrel to $63.24. The contract fell by $1.36 (2.1%) to $62.14 per barrel on Friday.

Brent has fallen by 7.7% and WTI by 8.9%.

"Today we're seeing a general trend towards buying risky assets whose prices have rolled back, including oil," the founder of Singapore-based consultancy Vanda Insights told Bloomberg.

The expert believes it is "quite likely" that OPEC+ will temporarily postpone production ramp-up plans, given some recent deterioration in the outlook for oil demand.

"OPEC's decisions will depend on whether oil prices recover and whether their recovery is sustainable," the founder of Singapore-based consultancy Vanda Insights added.