Oil prices firmed on Thursday, hovering near three-and-a-half-month highs as U.S. refiners restarting after Tropical Storm Harvey increased their crude processing.
Brent crude futures were down two cents at $54.15 U.S. a barrel, close to their highest since May 25.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude were down 24 cents at $48.95 U.S. a barrel, near a four-week high.
U.S. Gulf Coast facilities were slowly recovering from the devastating effects of Harvey, which hammered Louisiana and Texas almost two weeks ago, shutting key infrastructure in the heart of the U.S. oil and natural gas industry.
As of Wednesday, about 3.8 million barrels of daily refining capacity, or some 20% of the U.S. total, was shut in, although a number of refineries, as well as petroleum-handling ports, were restarting.
Prices also received a boost from a weakening U.S. dollar. Because oil is priced in the greenback, a lower dollar makes it less expensive for holders of other currencies.
At the same time, prices were weighed down by fears that Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean could interrupt crude shipments in and out of the United States, and by rising Libyan production.
Irma hit Caribbean islands overnight with wind speeds up to 185 miles per hour and was heading for Florida, where fuel shortages were reported as retailers struggled to keep up with demand from customers filling tanks ahead of the storm's landfall, expected this weekend.
Another Atlantic storm, Jose, is following on Irma's heels and has been upgraded to hurricane strength by the U.S. National Hurricane Center. Yet another hurricane, Katia, is developing in the Gulf of Mexico.
