14.06.202119:20:00UTC+00Oil Pares Gains, Settle Slightly Lower

Crude oil futures ended slightly lower on Monday, falling sharply from the day's highs during the closing minutes of the session.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the next phase of England's lockdown reopening will be delayed by four weeks due to a surge of the Delta variant of Covid-19 weighed on stocks and limited their upside.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended down by $0.03 or about 0.04% at $70.88 a barrel, after climbing to a high of $71.78 a barrel.

Traders weighed the prospects of Iranian oil returning to the market amid talks the sanctions on Iran may be lifted sometime in the foreseeable future.

Crude prices rose sharply earlier in the session amid rising optimism about energy demand thanks to good progress in vaccination rollout and relaxation of restrictions in several parts across the globe.

Market also continued to benefit from the International Energy Agency (IEA)'s latest oil market report that said global oil demand will return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2022. The IEA also said OPEC+ might have to open the taps to keep the world oil markets adequately supplied.