Oil prices fell during trading on Tuesday, September 10, amid conflicting signals between weak demand from China and monitoring the repercussions of Hurricane Francine on production.
The U.S. Coast Guard ordered all operations at Brownsville and other small Texas ports to close late Monday as Tropical Storm Francene barreled through the Gulf. The port of Corpus Christi remained open but with some restrictions.
The tropical storm is expected to intensify significantly over the next two days and could become a hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Exxon Mobil has decided to suspend production at its Hoover offshore platform, Shell has suspended drilling at two platforms, and Chevron has also begun shutting down oil and gas production at two of its offshore platforms.
At least 125,000 barrels per day of oil capacity could be disrupted, analysts at ANZ Bank said in a note, citing data from the National Hurricane Center.
However, signs of weak global demand and expectations of a continued oil oversupply weighed on the market.
Both benchmarks were up about 1 percent at settlement on Monday.
In terms of trading, Brent crude futures fell by about 0.3% to $71.66 a barrel. US crude futures also fell by 0.3% to $68.48 a barrel.
Markets are awaiting the release of the monthly report from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Tuesday. The US Energy Information Administration is also scheduled to release its short-term energy outlook, which includes speculation about the global market and US crude oil production.
