By Colleen Howe

BEIJING (Reuters) – Oil prices prolonged losses right into a second straight session on Tuesday on technical correction after last week’s rally, while forecasts for ample supply and a firm dollar also weighed.

Brent futures fell 28 cents, or 0.37%, to $76.02 a barrel by 0148 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 33 cents, or 0.45%, to settle at $73.23.

Each benchmarks rose for five days in a row last week and settled at their highest levels since October on Friday, partly resulting from expectations of more fiscal stimulus to revitalise China’s faltering economy.

“This week’s weakness is probably going resulting from a technical correction, as traders react to softer economic data globally that undermines the optimism seen earlier,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova, referring to bearish economic news from the U.S. and Germany.

“Moreover, the dollar’s strength is catching up with market sentiment and appears to be trimming the present gains in oil prices,” Sachdeva said.

The U.S. dollar wavered but remained near the two-year peak it touched last week amid uncertainty across the extent of tariffs from the incoming Trump administration.

A stronger dollar makes oil costlier for holders of other currencies.

Rising demand from non-OPEC countries, coupled with weak demand from China, are expected to maintain the oil market well supplied next 12 months, and that has also capped price gains.

“The move higher in crude oil prices appears to be running out of momentum,” ING analysts wrote in a note.

“While there was some tightening within the physical market, fundamentals through 2025 are still set to be comfortable, which should cap the upside.”

(Reporting by Colleen Howe; Editing by Himani Sarkar)