Oil holds gains after Trump's return to White House

By Sonali Paul
MELBOURNE, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Oil prices edged higher in
early trade on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump
returned to the White House from hospital after being admitted
for treatment for COVID-19 last Friday, while another storm
brewed in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
Prices fell sharply last Friday when Trump went into
hospital, then climbed more than 5% on Monday after he said he
would return to the White House and as hopes grew that a deal
could be agreed for a U.S. economic stimulus package to counter
the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures rose
2 cents to $39.24 a barrel at 0134 GMT.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures rose 8 cents, or 0.2%, to $41.37
a barrel.
An expanding strike by workers in Norway, which shut six
offshore oil and gas fields, and the evacuation of oil platforms
in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico ahead of Tropical Storm Delta heading
toward Louisiana and Florida also helped support prices.
"It's the supply-side factors that have changed in the last
24 hours and are contributing more to the uplift," said Lachlan
Shaw, head of commodity research at National Australia Bank.
The Norway strike will cut the country's total output
capacity by just over 330,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day,
or about 8% of total production, according to the Norwegian Oil
and Gas Association.
Meanwhile hopes for a bipartisan U.S. economic relief
package grew as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury
Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke on Monday and prepared to talk
again Tuesday, continuing a recent flurry of activity working
towards a deal on legislation. "There's better (fuel) demand sentiment surrounding the
potential for U.S. fiscal agreement, and perhaps President Trump
leaving hospital might drive a bit of impetus to conclude a deal
there," Shaw said.
Data from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday and
the U.S. government on Wednesday will provide a picture of
whether demand is picking up.
Five analysts polled by Reuters estimate, on average, that
crude stocks rose by 400,000 barrels in the week to Oct. 2,
while gasoline inventories likely fell by 900,000 barrels and
distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil,
likely dropped by 1.4 million barrels.