Crude oil futures failed to hold early gains and ended roughly flat on Monday amid concerns about the outlook for oil demand due to a potential U.S. recession. Further, oil prices fall as investors cashed in on a jump to a seven-week high on optimism about a possible recovery in demand of top oil importer China as the economy recovers this year from pandemic lockdowns. Meanwhile, the G7 has agreed to delay a review of the level of the price cap on Russian oil to March, a month later than originally planned, to provide time to assess the impact of the oil products price cap.
Benchmark crude oil futures for March delivery down 2 cents at $81.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. However, Brent crude for March delivery gained 48 cents or 0.55 percent at $88.11 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.