Prices of oil fall as Hurricane Rafael is expected to weaken
The oil prices dropped slightly on Friday, as the market continued to assess how Donald Trump's policy might impact supplies.
Brent crude oil futures dropped 26 cents or 0.3% to $75.37 a barrel at 0209 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI), gained 35 cents, or 0.5%, to $72.01. After a nearly 1% increase on Thursday, benchmarks dropped.
Brent is expected to increase by 3.1% this week while WTI will rise 4.1%.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center stated that Hurricane Rafael is forecast to move slowly to the west over the Gulf of Mexico, away from U.S. oil fields, and to weaken through the weekend.
The prices corrected on Friday, after rising on Thursday, on the expectation that Trump's new administration would tighten sanctions against Iran and Venezuela. This could limit supply. However, a stronger dollar and lower crude oil imports from China capped gains.
The price of oil tends to rise when the dollar is strong.
The data showed that crude imports from China, the largest oil importer in the world, dropped 9% in October. This was the sixth consecutive month of a decline year-on-year, and the rise in U.S. inventories also contributed to the downward pressure. (Reporting and editing by Christian Schmollinger; Sudarshan Varadhan)
(source: Reuters)
