Brent oil remains on the defensive after hitting four-month lows

• Oil remains on the back foot on recession fears. 
• The black gold fell to the lowest since Feb. 1 on Monday. 

Brent oil is flashing red in Asia, having hit four-month lows on Monday on recession fears.

The black gold is currently trading at $60.97 per barrel, representing a 0.5% drop on the day.

Prices slipped to $60.58 on Monday, the lowest level since February 1, on fears Trump's trade war may push the US and the global economy into recession, leading to a sharp drop in oil demand.

“Slowing economic activity now threatens to derail our base case of robust cyclical (oil) demand growth,” said Bank of America Merrill Lynch in a note, according to Reuters news.

Notably, oil prices have dropped sharply from $70 to $60 over the last three days, despite OPEC strongly hinting at further production cuts.

The Cartel and its allies, including Russia, have been reducing production since the start of the year to support prices. The OPEC+ group is set to meet later this month in Vienna to decide whether to extend the supply cuts. A consensus has emerged in favor of continued supply cuts in the second half of the year, OPEC’s de-facto leader Saudi Arabia said on Monday.

Pivot points