Oil price rises from three-year low, as tariff impact, stocks in focus By Investing.com

Investing.com– Oil prices rose from a three-year low in Asian trade on Wednesday, as traders waited to assess the impact of Hurricane Francine on output in the Gulf of Mexico.

Prices were also supported by industry data showing an unexpected weekly draw in US oil inventories.

But oil markets suffered steep losses on Tuesday as disappointing data on imports from China and a cut in demand forecasts from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries presented a tough outlook for oil markets.

U.S. crude that expires in November was up 0.5 percent at $69.51 a barrel, while it was up 0.6 percent at $65.50 a barrel by 8:34 p.m. ET (00 :34 GMT).

Francine becomes a hurricane, production in the Gulf of Mexico has been affected

Francine became a Category 1 hurricane late Tuesday, with the storm poised to make landfall in Louisiana on Wednesday.

The storm is poised to cut a path of destruction across the middle of the American South in the coming days and has seen a host of oil and gas producers shut down production in the Gulf of Mexico/

The region accounts for about 15 percent of U.S. oil production, with any production disruptions likely to tighten supplies in the near term.

US Stocks See Unexpected Pull- API

US oil stockpiles data showed a draw of 2.79 million barrels in the week to September 6, against expectations for a 0.7mb increase.

API data showed declines in gasoline inventories, suggesting demand in the world’s biggest fuel consumer remained strong even as the busy summer travel season ended.

API data typically heralds a similar reading from the official , due later on Wednesday.

Oil is hovering near fears of a 3-year low in demand

But despite positive signals, oil prices fell to their lowest levels since December 2021 on Tuesday, hurt mainly by concerns about slowing global demand.

The cut was initially triggered by data from China that showed the country’s oil imports fell for a third straight month in August amid slowing growth and falling fuel demand in the world’s biggest oil importer.

Fears of a demand slowdown were exacerbated by OPEC, which cut its forecast for demand growth for the year. The cartel now sees global oil demand rising to 2.03 mb in 2024, compared to previous forecasts of 2.11 mb.