U.S. oil hits highest in over a month amid Gulf of Mexico storm, Iran tensions

TOKYO, July 11 (Reuters) - U.S. oil futures hit their
highest in over a month on Thursday as a potential hurricane
threatened crude output in the Gulf of Mexico and as an incident
involving a British tanker in the Middle East highlighted
ongoing tensions there.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were
up 11 cents at $60.54 a barrel by 0055 GMT, after earlier
touching the highest since May 23 at $60.63. They gained 4.5% in
the previous session.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down 5 cents, or 0.1%, at
$66.96 a barrel, after ending Wednesday up 4.4%.
Five boats believed to belong to Iranian Revolutionary
Guards approached a British oil tanker on Wednesday and asked it
to stop in Iranian waters close by, but withdrew after a British
warship warned them over radio, a U.S. defence official said on
Thursday. Tensions have been high in the Middle East after attacks on
tankers and the downing of a U.S. drone by Iran last month,
following President Donald Trump's unilateral withdrawal from a
multi-party agreement with Tehran to end its nuclear programme.
U.S. oil producers on Wednesday cut nearly a third of Gulf
of Mexico crude output as what could be one of the first major
storms of the Atlantic hurricane season threatened offshore oil
production and began soaking Louisiana with heavy rains.
Fifteen production platforms and four rigs were evacuated in
the north central Gulf of Mexico, according to a U.S. regulator
as oil firms moved workers to safety ahead of a storm expected
to become a hurricane by Friday.
Operations at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, the only U.S.
port where the largest crude tankers can load and unload, were
normal on Wednesday morning, a spokeswoman said.
Also supporting oil prices is a decline in U.S. inventories.
U.S. crude stocks fell 9.5 million barrels in the week to July
5, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said, a drop of
more than triple the 3.1 million-barrel draw analysts had
expected as refineries ramped up output. "There is nothing like an early start to the hurricane
season to support oil prices, but looking under the hood of the
EIA data, it paints an even rosier picture for U.S. oil
markets," said Stephen Innes, managing partner, Vanguard Markets
in Bangkok.
"Imports down, exports likely up and refinery utilisation at
yearly highs," he said.
Stocks have now fallen for four consecutive weeks, according
to the EIA, and this week's official data follows similar
industry estimates from the American Petroleum Institute on
Tuesday, which showed a large drop in stocks of 8.1 million
barrels.

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GRAPHIC: U.S. crude inventories, weekly changes since 2017 https://tmsnrt.rs/2XlX17b
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