Oil prices eased on Thursday as the market expected a rapid recovery for production platforms after hurricane Laura that hit the Gulf of Mexico and shook Louisiana.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures for October, which expire on Friday, fell 55 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $45.09 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures fell 35 cents or 0.8% to $43.04 a barrel.
On Tuesday, oil producers evacuated 310 offshore facilities, halting 1.56 million barrels of crude oil per day, or 84% of the Gulf of Mexico production. However, the impact of the storm wave that hit Louisiana early Thursday at 150 miles per hour (240 km / h) happened less than predicted.
Producers said they were preparing to return to their deep-water facilities in Mexico to see if any damage from the storm considering the potential.
While refineries shutdowns reduced demand for crude oil, production halts in the Gulf of Mexico almost offset each other.
