2020.08.2519:00:00UTC+00Oil Prices Move Higher On Hurricane Threat

Oil prices moved higher on Tuesday, fueled by storm-driven production cuts in the U.S. Gulf Coast as traders look ahead to API inventory data.

Benchmark Brent crude rose 92 cents, or 2.04 percent, to $45.92 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures spiked 99 cents of $2.34 to $43.38 a barrel.

Energy producers have reportedly shut more than 1.5 million barrels per day of Gulf Coast offshore oil production, nearly 14 percent of the nation's total output as Tropical Storm Laura moved toward the Gulf of Mexico.

The storm is expected to strengthen into a category 1 hurricane as it approaches the Louisiana/Texas coast.

On the coronavirus front, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that the Covid-19 pandemic is still expanding, but the rise in cases and deaths has slowed globally, except for Southeast Asia and the eastern Mediterranean regions.