Oil steady

SINGAPORE. — Oil prices held steady yesterday, supported by rising demand from the United States where Gulf Coast refineries are restarting in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

But ongoing high crude output, including from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), meant there were ample supplies to meet demand.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $49,12 barrel at 0146 GMT, 4 cents below their last settlement, but not far off more than threeweek highs reached in the previous session.

Brent crude futures, the benchmark for oil prices outside the United States, dipped 8 cents to $54,12 a barrel, though still not far from May highs reached the previous day.

U.S. Gulf Coast facilities were slowly recovering from the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey, which hammered Louisiana and Texas almost two weeks ago, shutting key infrastructure in the heart of the U.S. oil and natural gas industry.

As of Wednesday, about 3,8 million barrels of daily refining capacity, or about 20 percent, was shut in, although a number of the refineries, as well as petroleum handling ports, were in the process of restarting.

ANZ bank said on Thursday that U.S. crude prices should be supported “as U.S. refineries increase their oil demand as they recover from recent flooding.”