Oil prices slip as Hurricane Laura's blow unlikely to have sustained impact - Reuters

Oil prices slip as Hurricane Laura's blow unlikely to have sustained impact - Reuters:

Oil prices eased on Thursday as the market expected a quick recovery for production platforms shuttered ahead of a hurricane that churned through the Gulf of Mexico and slammed Louisiana.

Brent crude LCOc1 futures for October, which expire on Friday, fell 55 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $45.09 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures fell 35 cents or 0.8% to $43.04 a barrel.

The storm hit Louisiana early Thursday with 150 mile-per-hour (240 kph) winds, damaging buildings, knocking down trees and cutting power to more than 400,000 people in Louisiana and Texas. Its storm surge was less than predicted, sparing inland plants from feared flooding.

Oil producers on Tuesday had shut 1.56 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude output, or 84% of the Gulf of Mexico’s production, evacuating 310 offshore facilities.