Oil prices rise more than 1%

oil rig

Oil prices rose more than 1% on Monday ahead of OPEC’s monthly oil report, and as Tropical Storm Nicholas formed in the southern Gulf of Mexico. The tropical storm is expected to intensify as it reaches Texas coast over the week.

The international benchmark Brent crude was trading up 1.1% at $73.71 per barrel, at 2.00 pm Makkah time.

WTI crude rose 1.2% to $70.57 per barrel.

Approximately three-quarters of the US Gulf’s offshore oil production, or about 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd), remains halted since late August due to Hurricane Ida, Reuters reported.

“The slower-than-expected resumption of US Gulf upstream and downstream capacities post-Ida may have added some bullishness to prices,” Bloomberg reported, citing Vandana Hari, founder of Vanda Insights in Singapore.

Meanwhile, OPEC is due to release its report on monthly production levels for August later today.