Oil rose towards $46 a barrel on Wednesday, near the highest since March, lifted by US producers shutting most of their offshore Gulf of Mexico output ahead of Hurricane Laura and a report showing a drop in US crude inventories.
Renewed worries over the Covid-19 pandemic, which has squeezed demand and sent prices to record lows in April, capped gains after reports this week of patients being re-infected, raising concerns about future immunity.
Brent crude rose 2 cents to $45.88 a barrel by 0815 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 3 cents to $43.32. Both benchmarks settled at a five-month high on Tuesday.
