Oil held above $101 a barrel on Friday, underpinned by Hurricane Ike which could threaten to disrupt production in the United States, the world’s biggest energy consumer.
US crude for October delivery rose $1,09 to $101,96 a barrel by 9am GMT, having settled $1,71 lower on Thursday, when prices dipped as low as $100,10, the lowest level since early April.
London Brent gained 93 cents to $98,57 a barrel, after a fall to around a six-month low of $96,99 on Thursday.
”We are on hurricane watch, as Ike takes aim at the US refining sector this weekend,” said Edward Meir, of broker MF Global.
”We expect Friday’s session to end on a positive note. However, the markets could open sharply lower on Monday if Ike — similar to [Hurricane] Gustav before it — ends up being a ‘bust’.”
The US coastal areas under threat from Ike are lined with oil refineries that process about 25% of the nation’s fuel. Ike is likely to come ashore late on Friday or early on Saturday as a category-three storm with winds of more than 178km/h, according to the National Hurricane Centre.
Oil has fallen about 30% from a record peak of $147,27 a barrel on July 11.
The prospect of lower demand for fuel from the United States and Europe due to faltering economic growth has contributed to the slide. A rebound in the US dollar has also put pressure on some US dollar-denominated commodities.
Prices came close to breaching the $100 mark on Thursday, despite the threat from Hurricane Ike.
A report that Saudi Arabia had no plans to cut output, despite Opec’s agreement in Vienna this week to trim supply, also undermined prices.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer, has no intention to reduce production at present unless customer demand falls, Saudi-owned daily Al-Hayat reported on Thursday. – Reuters