Oil prices were little changed in early trading on Tuesday, after Hurricane Beryl hit a major oil production hub in Texas, causing less damage than expected.
price movement
Brent crude futures were down 4 cents at $85.71 a barrel by 0113 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 5 cents at $82.28.
Despite the slowdown in oil refining activity and the evacuation of some production sites, major refineries along the US Gulf Coast appeared to see little impact from Hurricane Beryl, which weakened to a tropical storm after reaching the Texas coast.
This eased market concerns about the risk of supply disruptions in Texas, where 40 percent of U.S. crude oil is produced.
Major oil shipping ports around Corpus Christi, Galveston and Houston were closed ahead of the storm. The Corpus Christi Ship Channel reopened Monday and the Port of Houston was expected to resume operations Tuesday afternoon.
Market participants are also watching the situation in the Middle East for further trade signals. Oil prices fell 1 percent on Monday amid hopes that a possible ceasefire in the Palestinian Gaza Strip will ease concerns about disruption to global crude supplies.
The White House said senior US officials visited Egypt for talks on Monday but gaps remained between the two sides, and Hamas said a new Israeli incursion into Gaza threatened a potential deal.
