NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil prices closed 1% on Tuesday for the first month since March, as demand is expected to ease after the closure of Hurricane Ida refineries in the US Gulf.
Brent futures for October, which matured on Tuesday, closed at $ 0.42, or 0.6 percent, at $ 72.99 a barrel.
The US oil futures (WTI) closed at $ 0.71 or 1%, $ 68.50.
Both benchmark brands had their first monthly losses since March, though not far from their July highs. Brent fell 4% in August, while U.S. crude fell 7%.
Hurricane Ida, which struck the U.S. coast on Sunday as Type 4 hurricane, destroyed at least 94% of seawater oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, causing “catastrophic” damage to the Louisiana stage.
Prices were pressed by concerns that power outages and flooding in Louisiana would reduce oil demand from refineries after Hurricane Ida.
Production of about 1.7 million barrels of sea oil a day has been halted, but that production is expected to increase faster than many refineries that have lost power in the Gulf.
FGE analysts said in a statement on Tuesday that they expect three-quarters of marine production to resume by the end of the week.
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