Oil prices stabilised in Asian trade on Monday as investors sought cues from the broader financial markets, while comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin over the weekend ratcheted up geopolitical tensions in Europe.
The price of crude futures was unchanged at $74.99 a barrel at 0357 GMT after hitting a session high of $75.64. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose to $69.29 a barrel, up 3 cents, after rising to $69.92 earlier in the session.
The dollar increased 2.8 per cent last week, while the WTI rebounded 3.8 per cent as banking sector jitters eased.
Oil markets are closely watching the sentiment in the financial market, while oil fundamentals remain sidelined, said Vandana Hari, founder of Oil Market Analysis provider Vanda Insights.
Expect the most price action in Brent and WTI futures to occur during the Europe and U.S. trading hours, which is marked by plenty of intraday volatility, according to Hari.
She said that a strong rebound is not on the cards until the banking crisis dissipates fully, which could take days, if not weeks.
As investors assessed regulators' moves to rein in jitters in the global banking system, the dollar was firm as it kept a lid on oil's gains.
A stronger dollar makes dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies and tends to weigh on demand for oil.
President Vladimir Putin said that he will station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, escalating geopolitical tensions in Europe over Ukraine.
NATO criticised Putin on Sunday for his dangerous and irresponsible nuclear rhetoric.
Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday that Moscow was very close to achieving its goal of reducing crude output by 500,000 barrels per day bpd to around 9.5 million barrels per day.
Russia is expected to maintain crude oil exports by cutting output in April, despite lowering output, according to industry sources and Reuters calculations on Friday.
Russian oil exports have been more affected than crude exports due to a recent European Union embargo, with tonnes of diesel stuck on ships waiting for buyers.
Russian crude inventories have been rising since September last year, and the country would probably want to avoid further stockbuilds during the refinery maintenance season from March to June, according to analysts.
Production cuts may need to be extended beyond June if Russia wants to draw down the inventories it has built, according to analysts at FGE.
Industrial action in France is disrupting refineries, reducing crude demand and fuel production.
Investors are watching out for China's manufacturing and services purchasing managers' PMIs to be released later this week.
In the U.S. oil rigs rose four to 593 for the first time in six weeks, while gas rigs held steady at 162, energy services firm Baker Hughes Co said in a report on Friday.