By Florence Tan
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices remained little changed as investors eyed the disruption to power supplies, with Texas’ biggest ports closed before Tropical Storm Beryl is likely to strengthen into a hurricane and make landfall. mainland on Monday.
Brent crude futures rose 11 cents, or 0.1%, to $86.65 a barrel by 0042 GMT, after closing down 89 cents on Friday.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil was at $83.08 a barrel, down 8 cents, after falling 72 cents in the previous session.
The ports of Corpus Christi, Houston, Galveston, Freeport and Texas City closed Sunday to prepare for Tropical Storm Beryl, which could strengthen into a Category 2 hurricane after hitting the central Texas coast between Galveston and Corpus Christi, late Monday.
The closure of ports could cause a temporary interruption in exports of crude oil and liquefied natural gas, shipments of oil to refineries and deliveries of fuel from those factories.
“It looks like a storm, power outages are likely,” said Sydney-based IG analyst Tony Sycamore.
He added that there is also a good chance that US data will show another large weekly draw in US oil inventories amid the peak season, which will support oil prices.
WTI gained 2.1% last week after data from the Energy Information Administration showed crude and refined product inventories fell in the week ending June 28. [EIA/S]
The number of oil rigs in operation in the US remained unchanged at 479 last week, remaining at the lowest level since December 2021, Baker Hughes said in its weekly report on Friday.
Oil prices were also supported by hopes of interest rate cuts, Sycamore said, following U.S. data released on Friday that showed inflation easing and job growth slowing.
Lower interest rates can boost economic activity and increase demand for crude oil.
Investors were also keeping an eye on any impact of elections in the UK, France and Iran last week on geopolitics and energy policy.
France faced a potential political impasse after Sunday’s elections yielded a suspended parliament, while Iranians chose Masoud Pezeshkian as their new president, a relative moderate who defeated a hardline rival in the election.
(Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
