WTI futures hold onto gains, Brent turns lower

NEW YORK, September 11, 2017 – U.S. oil futures remained higher on Monday, while Brent futures lost some ground as concerns over the impact of Hurricane Irma on the oil industry eased and amid talk of a possible extension of OPEC‘s supply cuts.

The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude October contract was at $47.62 a barrel by 09:00 a.m. ET (13:00 GMT), up 18 cents or about 0.38%.

Elsewhere, Brent oil for November delivery on the ICE Futures Exchange in London dropped 30 cents or 0.56% to $53.48 a barrel.

U.S. oil futures found support following an official downgrading of Hurricane Irma’s strength to Category 1, as the storm pummeled Florida over the weekend after devastating much of the Caribbean.

Massive storm surges have flooded areas across South Florida, while downed trees and power lines have left over 2 million residents without power.

The commodity was also boosted by reports the Saudi oil minister discussed a potential extension of a pact to cut global oil supplies beyond March 2018 with his Venezuelan and Kazakh counterparts on Sunday.

OPEC and other producers, including Russia, have agreed to reduce output by about 1.8 million barrels per day until next March in a bid to reduce global oil inventories and support oil prices.

A further extension for at least three more months beyond March is now being discussed before OPEC meets again in November.

Elsewhere, gasoline RBOB futures lost 1.94% to $1.616 a gallon, while natural gas futures rallied 1.11% to $2.922 per million British thermal units.

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