08:54 AM EDT, 07/21/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Oil was mostly steady early on Monday, remaining rangebound as strong summer demand counterbalanced rising supply and growth worries.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil for August delivery was last seen up US$0.09 to US$67.43 per barrel, while September Brent crude was down US$0.05 to US$69.23.

Oil has traded in a narrow range since the beginning of the month as strong summer demand continues, with the Energy Information Administration's most recent weekly inventory report showing U.S. oil inventories fell by 3.9-million barrels per day.

However, the strong demand has come with supply on the rise. OPEC+ added the third of three monthly tranches of 411,000 barrels per day of production hikes on July 1 and is upping the return of 2.2-million bpd of voluntary production cuts as it approved a plan to raise output by 548,000 bpd on Aug.1, with an expected same-sized increase in September.

An expected, the slowdown in the global economy is also checking prices. The United States continues its trade war with most of the country's trading partners, threating to raise levies on imports on Aug.1 as it tries to force trade deals on countries unwilling to accept Washington's terms. Talks with the European Union remain in focus.

"The low state of inventory and the narrative surrounding it, were in the main neutered by continued anxiety in how tariffs would play out. None more so than the unsettling standoff in what, or if, any levies and reciprocals look like between the United States and the European Union. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's assurance over the weekend that a deal with the EU will be secured does not counter the recent letter sent by President Trump to Ursula von der Leyen in which it was stated an intent by the US to impose a 30% tariff," PVM Oil Associates noted.