(Bloomberg) -- Oil steadied after a two-day gain as investors weighed the damage from Hurricane Ida in the U.S. and prospect of more OPEC+ supply.
West Texas Intermediate was little changed near $69 a barrel after rising 0.7% on Monday. While Gulf of Mexico crude producers are expected to gradually resume service after Ida crashed ashore in Louisiana at the weekend, local refineries may be slower to restart operations.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies will meet on Wednesday to assess the global market and prospects for demand as the pandemic grinds on. With expectations the hit to consumption from the delta variant will fade, they are expected to restore another 400,000 barrels a day.
Oil has endured a turbulent August, rising and falling on alternate weeks, as investors reacted to the latest twists in the global health crisis and swings in the U.S. currency. After the volatile ride, the U.S. crude benchmark is down more than 6% this month, on course for the biggest drop since October 2020.
Prices are lower despite a steady decline in U.S. crude inventories, which are on course to cap a fifth monthly drop, the longest run of draws in nationwide holdings in four years, according to government data. Supplies held at the key hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, are lower for a 10th straight month.
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