Oil prices cut early losses on Monday after official customs data showed China's oil imports rose for the first time since May.
Benchmark Brent crude futures slipped 0.3 percent to $98.27 a barrel, while WTI crude futures were down half a percent at $92.19.
Chinese exports and imports both unexpectedly contracted in October, the first simultaneous slump since May 2020, as a result of higher interest rates globally and new COVID-19 curbs at home, official data showed earlier today.
While China's crude oil imports rebounded to the highest level since May in the month, volume for the first 10 months was still 2.7 percent below the same period a year earlier.
Moreover, China reiterated its commitment to maintaining strict COVID-related curbs, dashing hopes of a rebound in oil demand from the world's top crude importer.
Apple said that customers will now experience longer wait times to receive their new products after officials locked down a district home to Foxconn's iPhone factory - the world's largest - on 2 November for seven days.
A rebounding dollar also weighed on oil prices, as investors awaited the outcome of the mid-term elections in the United States and the latest U.S. consumer inflation report this week for directional cues.
