Investing.com - Oil prices ticked higher on Tuesday, as demand picked up and U.S. refineries started to resume operations.
Gasoline futures meanwhile continued to fall as initial fears of a serious supply crunch faded.
The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude October contract was at $47.55 a barrel by 3:15AM ET (0715GMT), up 26 cents, or around 0.5%. U.S. crude futures did not settle on Monday due to the U.S. Labor Day holiday.
Meanwhile, Brent oil for November delivery on the ICE Futures Exchange in London dipped 11 cents, or 0.2%, to $52.25 a barrel.
Elsewhere, gasoline futures for October shed 1.7 cents, or roughly 1%, to $1.674 a gallon, close to levels seen before storm system Harvey made landfall along the U.S. Gulf coast.
Prices spiked to a two-year high of $2.139 last Thursday on fears of supply shortages.
Oil refineries, pipelines and shipping channels across Texas and Louisiana began a gradual return of operations after storm system Harvey made landfall in the heart of the U.S. energy industry more than a week ago.
Still, many analysts say it could take months before the U.S. petroleum industry fully recovers from Harvey.
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.