SINGAPORE: US oil prices edged up on Tuesday as the gradual restart of Gulf of Mexico refineries following forced shutdowns due to Hurricane Harvey raised demand for crude, their most important feedstock.

The return of many US refineries ended a spike in gasoline prices as initial fears of a serious supply crunch faded.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $47.40 barrel at 0038 GMT, 11 cents above their last settlement. Gasoline futures, by contrast, dropped 3.5 per cent from their last close, to 1.69 per gallon, down from $2.17 a gallon on Aug 31.

In international oil markets, Brent crude futures dipped 13 cents to $52.21 a barrel as traders pulled money out of oil and instead poured it into gold, an investor safe-haven, following North Korea’s most powerful nuclear test to date.

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2017