24.08.202010:44:00UTC+00Oil Prices Rise On Hurricane Threat, Covid-19 Treatment Hopes

Oi prices rose on Monday as storms in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday brought oil production to a halt.

Prices were also supported by hopes for a coronavirus treatment as well as signs of a thaw in U.S.-China tensions.

Benchmark Brent crude rose 30 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $45.23 a barrel, while American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 28 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $42.62 a barrel.

Oil production was disrupted as Hurricane Marco and Tropical Storm Laura tore through the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, forcing some refiners to shut down oil production.

Energy companies evacuated workers from more than 100 production platforms and shut more than 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of offshore crude oil production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico because of the threat of back-to-back storms.

Risk sentiment received a boost after the U.S. FDA announced an emergency use authorization for the use of convalescent plasma in helping treat patients with Covid-19.

President Donald Trump hailed the FDA's decision and claimed the treatment could reduce the mortality by 35 percent.

Meanwhile, a Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the matter said that Trump's team is privately seeking to reassure U.S. companies that they can still do business with the WeChat messaging app in China.