Oil edges lower as U.S. producers, refiners avoid worst of storm - Reuters

Oil edges lower as U.S. producers, refiners avoid worst of storm - Reuters:

Oil prices edged lower on Friday as storm Laura past the heart of the U.S. oil industry in Louisiana and Texas without causing any widespread damage to refineries.

Brent crude LCOc1 futures for October, set to expire on Friday, was down 7 cents to $44.99 a barrel by 1154 GMT.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures were down 3 cents to $43.01 a barrel.

“With the U.S. Gulf hurricanes out of the way and preliminary assessment showing no damage to the upstream or downstream facilities, crude has surrendered most of the storm premium and could enter a holding pattern again,” said Vandana Hari, oil market analyst at Vanda Insights.