Investing.com - Oil prices struggled on Monday, while gasoline futures slumped on signs that the damage from storm system Harvey to the Gulf coast energy infrastructure was not as bad as initially feared.
Aside from supply and demand, investors also closely followed developments in the U.S.-North Korea standoff.
The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude October contract was at $47.31 a barrel by 3:15AM ET (0715GMT), little changed on the day. U.S. crude futures slipped to their fifth-straight weekly loss last week, ending down 58 cents, or nearly 1.2%.
Meanwhile, Brent oil for November delivery on the ICE Futures Exchange in London declined 37 cents, or 0.7%, to $52.38 a barrel.
Elsewhere, gasoline futures for October sank 5.3 cents, or roughly 3%, to $1.690 a gallon. It rallied to a two-year high of $2.139 last Thursday on fears of supply shortages.
About 5.5% of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico's oil production, or 96,000 barrels of daily output, remained shut on Sunday after storm system Harvey made landfall in Texas more than a week ago, the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said.
Affected output is down significantly from the peak of around 25%, or 428,568 bpd, on Aug. 26 as evacuated workers returned and activity resumed.
Meanwhile, two key fuel pipelines were set to start up on Monday after certain segments in Texas were shut because of Harvey, helping alleviate concerns about rising retail prices and the domestic distribution of gasoline and distillates.
Still, many analysts say it could take months before the U.S. petroleum industry fully recovers from Harvey.
In the week ahead, market participants will eye fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products on Wednesday and Thursday to weigh what the impact of Harvey was on supply and demand.
The reports come out one day later than usual due to the U.S. Labor Day holiday on Monday.