Oil steady as US producers, refiners avoid worst of Hurricane Laura
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Friday as a massive storm raced inland past the heart of the U.S. oil industry in Louisiana and Texas without causing any widespread damage to refineries.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 3 cents, or 0.1%, to $43.01 a barrel as of 0409 GMT.
WTI is on track to rise 1.6% rise this week, for a fourth straight week of gains.
Brent crude futures for October, set to expire on Friday, rose 2 cents to $45.11 a barrel, heading for a 1.7% weekly gain. The more active November contract climbed 3 cents to $45.63.
“With the U.S. Gulf hurricanes out of the way and preliminary assessment showing no damage to the upstream or downstream facilities, crude has surrendered most of the storm premium and could enter a holding pattern again,” said Vandana Hari, oil market analyst at Vanda Insights.
