On Wednesday, Britain’s Brent crude oil rates gained, majorly led by U.S. oil refiners closing the offshore production in the Gulf of Mexico due to Hurricane Laura and US-Sino trade talks showing optimism. Advances were controlled further over the demand concerns due to coronavirus, which has reported that patients getting re-infected in Asia and Europe, building doubts about the medical solution to the virus.
Brent future gained 0.3%, or 12 cents, to trade at $45.98 per barrel by 03:35 GMT. Meanwhile, the U.S.’s WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude stood unchanged at 43.35 per barrel, making both standard benchmarks standing at their five months high on Tuesday.
Hurricane Laura, which shut 1.56 million BPD crude production on Tuesday, has affected around 84% of the offshore output in the Gulf of Mexico, as compared to the Hurricane Katrina, which brought the 90% production down 15 years ago. The United States Energy industry is preparing for a major Hurricane Laura strike, forcing the producers to move around 310 workers to a safer place.
Additionally, the hopes for an optimistic trade deal between China and the U.S. got firm, as the top officials from both the nations reaffirmed for the Phase 1 trade deal, signed earlier in January 2020. The agreement is meant for China to buy more American goods, which the Southeast Asian nation lagged. The oil prices further rose after the American Petroleum Institute reported U.S. crude inventory to plunge more than predicted.
However, all the gains were capped by demand concerns over coronavirus, which has urged people to stay at home, has initiated a new social distancing norm, and created many other restrictions.