Oil Trades Near $60 on Storm Disruption as Glut Concerns Linger - Bloomberg

Oil Trades Near $60 on Storm Disruption as Glut Concerns Linger - Bloomberg:

Oil traded near $60 a barrel after a storm shut almost three-quarters of U.S. Gulf of Mexico crude production, even as lingering demand concerns continue to dent the outlook.

Futures rose 0.4% in New York. About 73% of crude output in the Gulf of Mexico was halted as of Sunday but some producers are preparing to return workers to offshore platforms as storm Barry weakens after making landfall. The shutdown countered the impact of China’s economy slowing to a three-decade low in the second quarter amid a prolonged trade dispute with the U.S.

Crude has gained this month because of shrinking U.S. stockpiles and rising tensions in the Middle East. The U.K. and its allies are considering beefing up their military presence in the Persian Gulf to deal with the threat to shipping posed by Iran. Still, there are concerns over the longer term outlook for the oil market with OPEC warning of a glut in 2020 while the IEA pointed to a surprise increase in global inventories in the first half of this year.

West Texas Intermediate for August delivery added 22 cents to $60.43 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 8:43 a.m. New York time. Brent for September settlement was 33 cents higher at $67.05 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe Exchange and traded at a premium of $6.52 to WTI for the same month.