Prices of crude edged down on Monday in Asia amid worries over a global oil glut, staying close to the two-month lows hit in the previous session.
The strong dollar and the fourth weekly rise in the U.S. oil rig count may have alleviated some pressure on crude futures.
NYMEX crude for September delivery was down 5 cents at $44.14 a barrel, after closing down 56 cents on Friday.
In London, Brent crude for September delivery was down 4 cents at $45.65 a barrel by 2243 GMT on Sunday, after settling down 51 cents on Friday. The benchmark contract on Friday hit $45.17, the lowest since May 11.
At the G20 meeting in China which concluded over the weekend, the world's biggest economies agreed to work together to support global growth and share the benefits of trade in a more productive manner, after focusing on the impact of Britain's exit from Europe and fears of rising protectionism.
Japan To Ease Monetary Policy
At the conference, BOJ governor Haruhiko Kuroda said he was prepared to further ease monetary policy, if necessary, to achieve the central bank's 2 percent inflation target. Kuroda also dismissed speculations about "helicopter money" - essentially printing money and distributing payouts -, saying it would be prohibited by law if it meant the BOJ directly underwriting government debt. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) will begin its two-day policy meeting on Thursday, and further policy easing is expected by market watchers.
According to analysts at Societe Generale, the BOJ faces a host of problems that would likely influence its monetary policy decisions, including weak output growth, deflationary pressures, stronger currency and extreme speculation about additional policy easing. They expect the central bank to “expand its asset purchases yet again, as well as cut the policy rate by another 10 basis points to negative 0.2 percent."