Oil edged lower — but was still headed for a fourth weekly gain — after Hurricane Laura swept through Louisiana and Texas without appearing to inflict major damage on the region’s energy infrastructure.
Futures in New York dipped below $43 a barrel after closing down 0.8% on Thursday. Laura came ashore as one of the most powerful hurricanes to ever hit Louisiana but has since weakened to a tropical storm. While it knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people and impacted plants that produce chemicals and liquefied natural gas, southeast Texas ports and crude facilities — including the largest U.S. refinery — likely avoided the worst of it.
More than 80% of oil output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and almost 3 million barrels a day of refining capacity had been shut ahead of the storm, causing a spike in gasoline and oil prices earlier in the week. Crude was also buoyed this week by data showing a fifth straight weekly decline in American stockpiles.
