Sept 13 (Askume) – Oil prices rose on Friday, continuing their upward trend as production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico stalled and Hurricane Francine forced producers to evacuate platforms before it reached the Louisiana coast.
Brent crude futures were up 34 cents, or 0.5%, at $72.31 a barrel by 0016 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 38 cents, or 0.6%, to $69.35 a barrel.
If these gains continue, both benchmarks will end their weekly losing streak despite a poor start, with Brent crude prices falling below $70 a barrel on Tuesday for the first time since late 2021. At current levels, Brent crude is expected to rise by about 1.7% for the week, and WTI is expected to rise by more than 2%.
Oil producers assessed damage and conducted safety inspections on Thursday as they prepared to resume operations in the US Gulf of Mexico after Francine was expected to cut supplies .
Analysts at UBS expect output at the region to fall by 50,000 barrels quarter-on-quarter in September, while analysts at FGE expect output to fall by 60,000 barrels to 1.69 million barrels.
About 42% of the field’s oil production was shut down as of Thursday, official data showed .
Supply shocks helped oil prices recover from a sharp drop earlier this week, while demand concerns pushed benchmarks to multi-year lows.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and the International Energy Agency both cut their demand growth forecasts this week, citing economic woes in China, the world’s biggest oil importer. Speakers at this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting said a shift to low-carbon fuels was also weighing heavily on Chinese oil demand.
Customs data on Tuesday showed China’s crude oil imports fell by an average of 3.1% from January to August this year compared with the same period last year.
“The collapse in domestic oil demand in China has become a hot topic, and the disappointing August trade data made it even more obvious,” FGE analysts said in a note to clients.
Concerns have also grown about American demand.US gasoline and distillate futures are trading at multi-year lows this week as analysts highlighted weaker-than-expected demand in the biggest oil consumer.
Data from the US Energy Information Administration on Wednesday showed US oil and fuel inventories rose last week following a sharp drop in demand.
