TOKYO: Oil prices rose on Monday as a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico forced companies to evacuate rigs and halt production, but gains were kept in check by wider concerns about excess supply and falling fuel demand.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 18 cents, or 0.5%, at $37.51 a barrel by around 0514 GMT. Brent crude gained 9 cents, or 0.2%, to $39.92 a barrel.
Both contracts ended last week lower, falling for a second week in a row.
Tropical Storm Sally gained in strength in the Gulf of Mexico west of Florida on Sunday and was poised to become a category 2 hurricane. The storm is disrupting oil production for the second time in less than a month after hurricane Laura swept through the region.
Typically oil rises when production is shut, but with the coronavirus pandemic getting worse demand concerns are to the fore, while global supplies continue to rise. The U.S. is the world’s biggest oil consumer and producer.
In Libya, commander Khalifa Haftar committed to ending a months-long blockade of oil facilities, a move that would add more supplies to the market, although it was unclear if oil fields and ports would begin operations.
“The announcement that the blockade of Libyan oil export terminals may be about to end will add to the woes of OPEC+’s meeting this week,” said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, a grouping known as OPEC+, meets on Sept. 17 to discuss compliance with deep cuts in production, although analysts don’t expect further reductions to be made.
BP Plc and Equinor ASA evacuated staff from some offshore platforms on Sunday after similar moves by Chevron Corp and Murphy Oil Corp the day before.
Also supporting prices, drillers cut the number of oil and gas rigs for the first time in four weeks last week.
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