Oil at one-week high as US supply concerns dominate

Oil prices rose more than 1% on Monday, supported by concerns about production stoppages in the United States due to the damage from Hurricane Ida, with analysts expecting prices to remain within a range in a stable market for the coming months will move. Brent crude rose 90 cents, or 1.2%, at 1049 GMT to $ 73.82 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 99 cents, or 1.4%, to $ 70.71. Brent has held between $ 70 and $ 74 a barrel for the past three weeks. "Oil prices may not have much headroom in the near future, but they are not expected to crash anytime soon," said Stephen Brennock of broker PVM. The U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) said last week it expects Brent prices to stay near current levels for the remainder of 2021, averaging $ 71 a barrel in the fourth quarter. "Markets still need clarity on the impact of the virus beyond the near future, and by the time we get it, most assets, including oil, seem to continue to drift sideways," said Howie Lee, an economist at OCBC Bank in Singapore. Prices were supported somewhat by the impact of Hurricane Ida on US production. About three quarters of offshore oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, i.e. H. around 1.4 million barrels a day have come to a standstill since the end of August. "Hurricane Ida had a unique net positive impact on the US and global oil balance, with an impact on demand that was less than on production," said Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) analysts in a September 9 note. However, according to energy services company Baker Hughes, the number of operating oil rigs in the United States has increased over the past week, suggesting that production could increase in the coming weeks. China's planned release of oil from strategic reserves still harbors supply risks, while hopes of new talks on a broader nuclear deal between Iran and the West arose after the UN nuclear regulatory agency reached an agreement with Iran on the overdue one on Sunday Maintenance of the monitoring systems had been achieved in order to keep them in operation. China said Monday that it would provide details of planned crude oil sales from strategic reserves in due course.