Black commodity trading faced another storm threat that hit the Texas Gulf Coast, causing oil prices to continue to trade strong at a six -week high in the Asian session.
Brent crude futures strengthened at $ 73.70 a barrel, after rising 0.8% the previous day. U.S. WTI trading also strengthened at $ 70.70 a barrel, after gaining 1.1% on Monday.
Both benchmarks have soared to the highest levels they have ever reached since early August.
The evacuation was made Monday from the Gulf of Mexico oil rig as onshore oil mills prepare for tropical storm Nicholas that hit the Texas coast.
This worsens the prospects for a recovery in production in the U.S. Gulf, as more than 40% of oil and gas output in the region is still out of operation after two weeks of Hurricane Ida.
The U.S. government has agreed to sell crude oil from the nation’s emergency reserves to eight companies including Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Valero, in a scheduled auction to raise money for the federal budget.
Meanwhile, OPEC on Monday lowered its forecast on world oil demand for the last quarter of 2021 because of the delta variant, saying further recovery will be delayed until next year when consumption will exceed pre -pandemic levels.
