Oil prices continued to rise during trading on Thursday, September 12, continuing to recover after Brent crude fell to its lowest level in about 3 years earlier this week, while following the latest developments of Hurricane Frances and its impact on production in America.
In terms of trading, Brent crude futures rose by about 1.5% to $71.62 a barrel. US crude futures also rose by 1.4% to $68.26 a barrel.
Crude oil futures rose more than 2% in the previous session as offshore platforms in the US Gulf of Mexico were shut down and refining operations were disrupted due to Hurricane Francine making landfall in southern Louisiana on Wednesday.
But as the hurricane neared its end after making landfall, the oil market's attention once again turned to falling demand.
Prices received negative data this week after OPEC lowered its global crude demand growth estimate for 2024, now expecting demand to grow by 80,000 b/d to 2 million b/d in 2024. It also lowered its global crude demand growth forecast by 40,000 b/d to 1.7 million b/d in 2025.
Separately, the Energy Information Administration revealed yesterday that US oil inventories rose last week as crude imports grew and exports fell. The data also showed that gasoline demand fell to its lowest level since May at the same time as distillate demand declined, with refinery runs also falling.
