(Updates prices)
By Ahmad Ghaddar
LONDON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Tuesday as
tighter U.S. supplies helped to reverse days of losses triggered
by concerns across global markets about the impact on China's
economy of a crisis at heavily-indebted property group China
Evergrande.
Brent crude gained 52 cents, or 0.7%, to $74.44 a
barrel by 1338 GMT, having fallen by almost 2% on Monday.
The October West Texas Intermediate (WTI) contract,
which expires later on Tuesday, was up 41 cents, or 0.6%, at
$70.70, after dropping 2.3% in the previous session. The more
active November contract gained 52 cents a barrel to $70.66.
ActivTrades analyst Ricardo Evangelista said concerns over
U.S. production were pushing aside other factors, including
uncertainty over the outcome of the Federal Reserve monetary
policy committee meeting, which begins on Tuesday and "fears
that the Evergrande issue may trigger a wider crisis".
Royal Dutch Shell, the largest U.S. Gulf of Mexico
oil producer, said on Monday that damage to offshore transfer
facilities from last month's Hurricane Ida will cut production
into early next year.
About 18% of the U.S. Gulf's oil and 27% of its natural gas
production remained offline on Monday, more than three weeks
after Hurricane Ida, regulator Bureau of Safety and
Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) said.
Meanwhile, investors across financial assets have been
rocked by the fallout from heavily indebted Evergrande
and the threat of a wider market shakeout in the longer term.
While that view of the state of China's economy is weighing
on markets, the U.S. Federal Reserve is also expected to start
tightening monetary policy - which is likely to make investors
more wary of riskier assets such as oil.
(
Additional reporting by Aaron Sheldrick in Tokyo; Editing by
Louise Heavens and Barbara Lewis)
