WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices jumped nearly 2 percent on Thursday to extend gains from the previous session due to hurricane disruptions and concerns over its impact on U.S. production.
Benchmark Brent crude futures surged 1.7 percent to $71.81 a barrel in European trade, while WTI crude futures were up 1.8 percent at $68.50.
Several offshore platforms were shut down in Gulf of Mexico due to Francine's landfall in southern Louisiana on Wednesday.
The hurricane has seen almost 675,000 barrels a day of oil production shut-in, which is equivalent to 39 percent of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico's output, analysts said.
Investors also cheered U.S. CPI data that showed the annual inflation rate slowed to 2.5 percent in August from 2.9 percent in July - bolstering expectations for a 25-bps rate cut from the Federal Reserve at its upcoming policy meeting next week.
Markets had expected inflation to slow to around 2.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has cut its 2024 oil demand growth forecast by 70,000 barrels per day (bpd), or about 7.2 percent to 900,000 bpd in its monthly oil market report released today.
The Paris-based agency said it expects a slowdown in Chinese demand as a result of a broader macroeconomic slowdown and higher uptake of electric vehicles.
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