Crude Prices Decline as Hurricane Beryl Concerns Wane, By Reuters

By Erwin Seba

HOUSTON – Crude oil prices experienced a decline on Tuesday as concerns diminished regarding the potential supply disruptions from Hurricane Beryl, which is on track to bypass most oil fields en route to Jamaica.

Brent crude futures settled at $86.24 a barrel, down 36 cents or 0.42%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude closed at $82.81 a barrel, a decrease of 57 cents or 0.68%.

Earlier in the day, WTI had risen by $1 to reach $84.38 due to fears that Beryl might affect offshore oil production areas in the U.S.-regulated northern Gulf of Mexico, especially with rising demand for motor fuels in the U.S.

Both crude benchmarks had experienced a gain of around 2% in the previous session. However, new forecasts released on Monday led traders to feel less anxious about potential supply issues, according to Phil Flynn, an analyst with the Price Futures Group.

"Markets came to the realization that Beryl is not going to shut down any major amounts of offshore oil production," Flynn stated. "We may see some platforms temporarily shut down, but the overall impact will be minimal."

Hurricane Beryl, classified as a dangerous Category 4 storm, is currently moving through the Caribbean Sea. It is expected to weaken into a tropical storm before reaching the Gulf of Mexico later this week, as per predictions from the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

"We dodged a bullet with Beryl," remarked John Kilduff, a partner with Again Capital LLC. "However, there’s a general understanding that any storm developing in the Gulf could pose significant risks."

Additionally, sources noted that American Petroleum Institute (API) data indicated a reduction in oil and distillate inventories, while gasoline stocks saw an increase. The API figures suggested a drop of 9.163 million barrels in crude stocks for the week ending June 28. In contrast, gasoline inventories rose by 2.468 million barrels, while distillate supplies decreased by 740,000 barrels.