At a time when the outlook for demand is at half mast, particularly in Asia, pushing Saudi Arabia, the world's largest exporter, to lower its prices, oil fell marginally on Monday.

At around 3:20 p.m. GMT (5:20 p.m. CET), a barrel of Brent North Sea crude for November delivery was worth $72.24 in London, down 0.54% from Friday's close. In New York, the American barrel of WTI for October yielded its side 0.51% to 68.94 dollars. However, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its partners, an alliance where Saudi Arabia, decided last week to increase its production as planned next month. Investors were also watching the situation in the United States, where Hurricane Ida hit a significant portion of Gulf of Mexico production and also affected many refineries. But the US government has decided to use part of its strategic reserves to prevent a gasoline shortage in the middle of the weekend extended by a holiday for Labor Day.