Petroleum prices held near $46.00 U.S. a barrel on Wednesday, close to its highest since March, lifted by U.S. producers shutting most of their offshore Gulf of Mexico output ahead of Hurricane Laura and a report showing a drop in U.S. 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 slipped 11 cents, or 0.24%, to $45.75 U.S. a barrel mid-morning Wednesday, while West Texas Intermediate crude fell 15 cents, or 0.35%, to $43.20 U.S. Both benchmarks settled at a five-month high on Tuesday.
Energy players in the States were preparing on Tuesday for a major hurricane strike. Producers shut 1.56 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude output, representing 84% of the Gulf of Mexico’s offshore production and close to the 90% outage that Hurricane Katrina brought 15 years ago.
A record oil output cut by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia has helped to lift Brent from April’s 21-year low below $16.00 U.S.
