Image credit: Global Risk Management

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Tonight, the weekly oil stocks data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) will be followed closely for hints of U.S. oil inventory growth/decrease ahead of another inventory report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday.

The EIA yesterday in its monthly productivity report said that it expects U.S. crude oil production to continue the increase next month, climbing by 131,000 barrels per day for the 7 largest oil plays.

In Libya, a strike at an oil port that exports crude from the huge El Sharara oil field delays loading. Allegedly, negotiations for a solution are ongoing. The strike comes after two large oil fields went offline earlier this month due to pipeline disruptions. Oil production in the country remains fragile.

Turning to economic data, today sees U.S. inflation numbers, the commencement of EU Finance Ministers meeting and overnight, Chinese Industrial Production data and Japan Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes.