Oil prices fell at the beginning of limited trading

Oil prices fell on Monday in the beginning of limited trading due to the Lunar New Year holiday in East Asia, but maintained most of the gains made last week on the back of the possibility of an economic recovery in China, the largest oil importer, this year.

Brent crude futures fell 46 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $87.17 at 0349 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 36 cents, also down 0.4 percent, to $81.28 a barrel.

Brent rose last week 2.8 percent, while US crude rose 1.8 percent.

International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol said on Friday that energy markets could be undersupplied this year if China’s economy rebounds in the way financial institutions expect it to.

The jump in traffic in China ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday sends a message of optimism to fuel demand after the two-week holiday.

The EU-G7 alliance will cap prices for Russian refined products from Feb. 5, in addition to the cap the alliance has imposed on Russian crude oil prices since December and the EU’s ban on Russian crude imports by sea.

The Group of Seven agreed to postpone the review of the level of the Russian oil price ceiling to March, a month later than originally scheduled, to give an opportunity to assess the consequences of imposing a ceiling on oil product prices.