Traders are awaiting the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting, due on Wednesday, as data on core inflation has raised the risk of interest rates remaining higher for longer.
Brent crude was down 96 cents, or 1.1%, at $83.11 a barrel as of 0512 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for March, which expire on Tuesday, were unchanged at $76.34 a barrel. WTI futures did not settle on Monday because of a public holiday in the United States. The April WTI contract , currently the most active, was up 2 cents at $76.57 a barrel.
"Brent is at the middle of the trading range since late December of between $78 and $88 a barrel, with some investors taking profits on concerns over more U.S. interest rate hikes while others kept bullish sentiment on hopes for a demand recovery in China," said Satoru Yoshida, a commodity analyst with Rakuten Securities.