0359 GMT: Crude oil prices were higher in mid-morning trade in Asia Aug. 31 on expectations of continuing supply disruptions in the US Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Laura.
At 11:59 pm in Singapore (0359 GMT), the new front-month ICE Brent November futures contract was up 29 cents/b (0.63%) from the Aug. 28 settle at $46.10/b, while the NYMEX October light sweet crude futures contract was 18 cents/b (0.42%) higher at $43.15/b.
Five refineries in Texas are expected to restore operations after Hurricane Laura largely missed the oil infrastructure in the southeast of Texas, but the return of the Citgo and Phillips 66 refineries were reported to be facing delays due storm damage.
Citgo's 425,000 b/d Lake Charles Refinery had sustained damage that could take weeks to repair, but there were no safety or environmental issues, Citgo CEO Carlos Jorda said in an Aug. 28 statement, without indicating a timeline for the restart. Phillips 66 has closed its Beaumont terminal.
More than 2.3 million b/d of refining capacity was estimated to have been taken offline in the area ahead of the hurricane making landfall late last week.
With passing of the storm, analysts said investors may soon refocus their attention on slowing demand recovery due to a resurgence in coronavirus infactions and mounting OPEC+ supply concerns, which could pressure crude oil prices to revisit lower levels.
"The high inventories and limited impact of the storm could see crude oil give up all the gains it made leading into this event. There are also signs that demand is starting to wane," ANZ analysts said in a note Aug. 31.
Major consumer India has recorded the world's highest single-day rise in coronavirus infections Aug. 30, with 78,761 new cases.
"The focus remains on the near-term pace of the global economic recovery and the supply-demand dynamic. Risks in the near-term remain skewed to the downside, given rising supply and demand uncertainty, which is seemingly keeping prices capped," AxiTrader APAC market strategist Stephen Innes said in a note Aug. 31.
