NEW YORK, Oct 4 (Reuters) - U.S. cash crude grades in theGulf Coast market fell slightly in thin trading on Friday,reversing some gains recorded on Thursday ahead of TropicalStorm Karen's arrival, traders said.
The storm weakened in the Gulf of Mexico and forecasterssaid the hurricane watch would likely be downgraded to tropicalstorm. Karen is expected to make landfall somewhere betweenLouisiana and the Florida Panhandle this weekend.
Still, oil companies shut 49.5 percent of crude oilproduction in the Gulf of Mexico because of the storm, the U.S.Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said on Thursday.Some such as Motiva Enterprises said they are reducing rates atcertain facilities in Louisiana because of delayed oilshipments
See our Factbox for more details on facilities shut by thestorm.
In the cash crude market, Light Louisiana Sweet
Mars sour
Bonito crude traded 5 cents lower at 85 cents over futures.
In the futures market, U.S. oil posted a 0.94 percentweekly gain after it settled 53 cents higher at $103.84 abarrel. Brent crude settled 46 cents higher at $109.46 abarrel. It ended the week less than one percent higher,following three weeks of losses. (Reporting by Selam Gebrekidan. Editing by Andre Grenon)