On Monday, Oil prices rose to a six-week high as US output remains slow to return two weeks after Hurricane Ida slammed into the Gulf Coast and worries another storm could affect output in Texas this week. Those price gains came even though the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) trimmed its world oil demand forecast for the last quarter of 2021 due to the Delta coronavirus variant.

Brent futures rose 59 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to settle at $73.51 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 73 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to settle at $70.45. That was Brent’s highest close since July 30 and WTI’s highest close since Aug. 3.

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“Hurricane Ida’s impact is lasting more than the market expected, and as some oil production capacity remains shut this week, prices are rising on supply not being restored and therefore not reaching refineries that have restarted operations quicker than producers,” said Nishant Bhushan, oil markets analyst at Rystad Energy.
Further disruption from bad weather could be around the corner. With the US National Hurricane Center projecting Tropical Storm, Nicholas will scrape along the South Texas coast on Monday and make landfall near Corpus Christi later tonight.