Oil prices held steady on Thursday, supported by rising demand from the United States where Gulf Coast refineries are restarting in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, APA reports quoting Reuters.
But three more hurricanes in the Caribbean and Atlantic were threatening more disruption.
Despite the storms, 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 CLc1 were at $49.08 barrel at 0237 GMT, 8 cents below their last settlement, but not far off their highest in more than three weeks, reached in the previous session.
Brent crude futures LCOc1, the benchmark for oil prices outside the United States, dipped 9 cents to $54.11 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 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.
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