Oil prices are holding above $75 U.S. a barrel, remaining on track for weekly gains of more than 3%, due to the slow recovery in American output after two hurricanes hit the Gulf of Mexico.
Brent crude oil futures are at $75.40 U.S. a barrel on Friday morning (September 17). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were at $72.22 U.S.
As of September 16, about 28% of U.S. Gulf of Mexico crude production remained offline, nearly three weeks after Hurricane Ida hit the region.
Preliminary data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed U.S. crude exports in September have slipped to between 2.34 million barrels per day and 2.62 million barrels per day from three million in late August.
The U.S. dollar climbed to a three-week high in premarket trading Friday, making dollar-traded crude imports more expensive for countries that use other currencies.
