(Updates prices)
By Ahmad Ghaddar
LONDON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Tuesday,
after sharp losses the previous session, amid tighter U.S.
supplies, ending days of losses as global markets remain haunted
by the potential impact on China's economy of a crisis at
heavily indebted property group China Evergrande.
Brent crude gained 70 cents, or 1%, to $74.62 a
barrel by 1239 GMT, having fallen by almost 2% on Monday. The
October West Texas Intermediate (WTI) contract, which
expires later on Tuesday, was up 61 cents, or 0.9%, at $70.90,
after dropping 2.3% in the previous session. The more active
November contract gained 72 cents a barrel to $70.86.
Growing concerns over U.S. production "seem to be outpacing
other factors ... such as the uncertainty over the outcome of
the Federal Reserve monetary policy committee meeting and fears
that the Evergrande issue may trigger a wider crisis,"
ActivTrades analyst Ricardo Evangelista said.
Royal Dutch Shell, the largest U.S. Gulf of Mexico
oil producer, said on Monday that damage to offshore transfer
facilities from 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.
Still, 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 - likely to make investors warier of
riskier assets such as oil.
(
Additional reporting by Aaron Sheldrick in Tokyo, Editing by
Louise Heavens)
