U.S. crude oil trades above $70 per barrel as Gulf of Mexico production recovers

U.S. crude oil traded above $70 per barrel on Tuesday, as production in the Gulf of Mexico is still in recovery mode after Hurricane Francine.

More than 200,000 barrels per day remained offline in the Gulf as of Monday, according to Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. Production from undamaged facilities will be brought back online immediately after checks have been completed, according to the agency.

Here are Tuesday’s energy prices:

• West Texas Intermediate October contract: $70.4 per barrel, up 32 cents, or 0.5%. Year to date, U.S. crude oil is down about 2%.
• Brent November contract: $72.93 per barrel, up 18 cents, or about 0.3%. Year to date, the global benchmark has fallen more than 5%.
• RBOB Gasoline October contract: $1.974 per gallon, up 0.3%. Year to date, gasoline has declined about 6%.
• Natural Gas October contract: $2.396 per thousand cubic feet, up 1%. Year to date, gas has pulled back more than 4%.

The oil market is also bracing for the Federal Reserve decision Wednesday on interest rates. The central bank is widely expected to lower rates, though Wall Street is divided on the magnitude of the cut.

U.S. crude oil is down more than 13% this quarter while Brent has fallen nearly 16% as demand slows in China, the world’s largest crude importer, and OPEC+ plans to increase production in December.