The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six rival currencies, edged up 0.1 percent to 94.419 .DXY, moving back toward the overnight high of 94.750. That was its highest since the downbeat U.S. jobs report toppled the dollar on June 3.
The perceived safe-haven yen has benefited from investors' risk aversion. The dollar edged down 0.1 percent to 106.16 yen JPY=, moving back toward Monday's low of 105.735, its weakest level since early May.
The euro was down 0.1 percent at $1.1286 EUR=. Against the yen, it skidded 0.2 percent to 119.88 EURJPY=, moving back toward a more than three-year low plumbed in the previous session.
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.
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.
* China's Crude Production Drops Most in 15 Years
China’s crude production dropped by the most in 15 years in another sign that OPEC’s strategy of flooding markets to drive out higher-cost suppliers is relatively working in the world’s biggest energy consumer.
The Asian nation reduced oil output in May by 7.3% from a year ago to 16.87 million tons, according to data from National Bureau of Statistics released on Monday. That is the biggest decline since Feb. 2001, Reuters reported.
Shrinking Chinese output may help balance oil markets and sustain a more than 75% rebound in crude from a 12-year low earlier in 2016.
Reference: Financial Tribune, Investing, Reuters
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