08:52 AM EDT, 05/26/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Oil prices were steady early on Monday in light holiday electronic trading, remaining rangebound as the summer driving season begins and the U.S. delays 50% tariffs on imports from the European Union.

West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was last seen up US$0.05 to US$61.58 per barrel, while July Brent crude was up US$0.08 to US$64.86.

The rise comes with U.S. exchanges closed for the Memorial Day holiday that marks the start the high-demand summer season in the northern hemisphere, though the impact of a slowing global economy amid U.S. tariff battles are clouding the outlook.

U.S. President Donald offered some support to prices early as he delayed a plan to impose 50% tariffs on imports from the EU to July from June. However the calming market comes ahead of a June 1 OPEC+ ministerial meeting that is expected to see the group agree to add a third monthly tranche of 411,000 barrels per day of production hikes to market in July.

"Commodity markets have responded as expected to Trump delaying tariffs on the EU," said Ole Hansen, head of commodities strategy at Saxo Bank told Bloomberg News. "The OPEC+ meeting is clearly also a focus given the risk of another bumper production increase."

Still, prices remain rangebound, with major forecasting agencies predicting global inventories are on the rise as production climbs above demand. Oil prices are down 0.8% over the past month, but down 14% since the beginning of the year.