Casa Arabe is committed to being a meeting point between Spain and the Arab world
uae6 hours ago
Oil edged up towards $46 a barrel on Wednesday, close to its 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, limited gains after reports this week of patients being re-infected, raising concerns about future immunity.
Brent crude rose 8 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $45.94 a barrel by 1331 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude added 26 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $43.61. Both benchmarks settled at a five-month high on Tuesday.
"Oil traders will be preoccupied with the hurricane today," said Tamas Varga of broker PVM. "Once the danger passes, demand considerations will come into focus again."
The US energy industry was preparing on Tuesday for a major hurricane strike. Producers shut 1.56 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude output, representing 84 per cent of the Gulf of Mexico's offshore production and close to the 90 per cent outage that Hurricane Katrina brought 15 years ago.
"We do see some support on the back of hurricane activity," Dutch bank ABN AMRO said in a report. "The threat of being infected by the Covid-19 virus threatens a further recovery in oil demand."
Oil was also boosted on Tuesday by US and Chinese officials reaffirming their commitment to a Phase 1 trade deal. Further support came from American Petroleum Institute figures showing US crude stocks fell more than expected.
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.
The US government's Energy Information Administration report at 1430 GMT will be in focus to see if it confirms the API figures. - Reuters
Casa Arabe is committed to being a meeting point between Spain and the Arab world
uae6 hours ago
From stocking up essentials to ensuring safety of vehicles and properties, they take no chances
uae7 hours ago
The UAE face a tricky challenge on Friday in what could be a rain-interrupted qualifying game against Vanuatu
cricket7 hours ago
The daughter of Sheikh Mohammed married Sheikh Mana in a grand ceremony last year
uae7 hours ago
Authorities also apprehended 179 suspects across 196 operations worldwide
crime8 hours ago
The mission titled ICUBE-Q will be launched on board China's Chang'E6 from Hainan
world8 hours ago
Notable Speech and Tarifa lead an army of contenders in major Classic contests at Newmarket, England and Churchill Downs, America
sports8 hours ago
GCSE and A level board exams take place over several weeks in April, May and June for thousands of students across the world
education9 hours ago