Oil price rises

Oil prices rose on Monday in seesaw trading as the market balanced supply fears with expectations that rise in US interest rates would weaken fuel demand.

Brent crude futures for September settlement rose 79 cents, or 0.77 per cent, to $103.99 a barrel by 1050 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 82 cents, or 0.87 per cent, to $95.52 a barrel.

"A slightly weaker US dollar and improving equity markets are supporting oil," UBS oil analyst Giovanni Staunovo said on Monday.

Oil futures have been volatile in recent weeks as traders have tried to reconcile the possibilities of further interest rate hikes, which could limit economic activity and thus cut fuel demand growth, against tight supply from disruptions in trading of Russian barrels because of Western sanctions amid the Ukraine conflict.