TOKYO: Oil prices fell on Thursday after OPEC+ agreed to keep its policy of gradually returning supply to the market at a time when coronavirus cases around the world are surging and many U.S. refiners, a key source of crude demand, remained offline. Brent crude was down by 15 cents, or 0.2%, at $71.44 a barrel by 0650 GMT, after dropping 4 cents on Wednesday. U.S. oil fell 20 cents, or 0.3%, to $68.39 a barrel, after rising 9 cents in the previous session. In the U.S., oil refineries in Louisiana may take weeks to restart after Hurricane Ida swept through the region, with operators facing power and water shortages, which is likely to crimp demand for oil. Energy companies were scrambling to restart platforms and pipelines in the Gulf, with about 1.4 million bpd of oil production still offline, the U.S. offshore regulator said.

Source: The Star September 02, 2021 01:41 UTC