Oil gains on Trump hospital exit, supply disruptions

London

OIL prices gained on Tuesday amid supply disruptions in Norway, a new hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, and US President Donald Trump's return to the White House after being treated for Covid-19 in hospital.

Brent crude futures were up 38 cents, or 0.9 per cent, by 0949 GMT at US$41.67 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were trading 34 cents higher, or 0.9 per cent, at US$39.56 a barrel.

An oil workers' strike in Norway will cut the country's total output capacity by just over 330,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, or about 8 per cent of total production, according to the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association. Around 60 per cent of the total cuts were in natural gas, with crude oil and natural gas liquids making up the rest, according to Reuters calculations.

"Besides Norway, there could also be production outages in the Gulf of Mexico this week, where another hurricane has developed," Commerzbank said.

Energy companies were evacuating offshore oil platforms as Hurricane Delta strengthened to category 2 and could become a major hurricane when it reaches the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday.

Chevron has begun evacuating all personnel from its platforms in the region and is shutting-in the facilities, the company said.

A rally in world stock markets after Mr Trump's return to the White House from hospital and expectations of a new US stimulus package being agreed also boosted oil.

Oil prices had fallen sharply when Mr Trump went to hospital on Friday, as it created uncertainty for investors over what would happen in the United States as the country gears up for a presidential election on Nov 3.

Data from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday and the US government on Wednesday will provide a picture of whether demand is picking up.

Five analysts polled by Reuters estimate, on average, that crude stocks rose by 400,000 barrels in the week to Oct 2, while gasoline inventories likely fell by 900,000 barrels and distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, likely dropped by 1.4 million barrels. REUTERS