27.10.202019:19:00UTC+00Crude Oil Futures Settle Notably Higher

Crude oil prices moved higher on Tuesday, lifted by reports about evacuation of over 150 offshore facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast due to Hurricane Zeta.

Several producers including BP, Chevron and Equinor have reportedly evacuated platforms and halted production, due to the hurricane which is expected to sweep across the resort area and move through Gulf of Mexico oil fields.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended higher by $1.01 or about 2.6% at $39.57 a barrel.

Brent crude futures were rising nearly $0.60 or 1.4% at $41.04 a barrel.

The closure of key facilities across the Gulf of Mexico due to Hurricane Zeta has resulted in shutting down of about 16% or close to 300,000 barrels per day of oil output.

Oil's rise was somewhat capped by prospects of increased output from Libya, and weak energy demand outlook due to spikes in coronavirus cases across the U.S. and several countries in Europe.

Meanwhile, trader looked ahead to weekly inventory reports from the American Petroleum Institute (API) and U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). While API's report is due later today, the EIA is scheduled to release its data Wednesday morning.