On Friday, WTI crude oil prices dipped lower after Hurricane Laura passed through the Gulf of Mexico and made landfall without having as severe an impact as expected. At the time of writing, WTI crude oil is trading at around $42.97 per barrel.

While the storm did cause some damage in Louisiana and Texas, oil refineries in the region were not flooded as anticipated earlier, dispelling fears of oil supply being impacted. As fears of supply disruptions wane, WTI crude oil has turned bearish as traders once again focus on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on oil demand.

Ahead of the storm, US producers had shut down around 1.56 million bpd worth of crude output – accounting for about 83% of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico. However, activity began to resume as soon as late Thursday, with the port of Houston reopen to permit commercial shipping.

Previous closures of Port Houston, Beaumont and Port Arthur ahead of the storm, were expected to result in a decline of almost 1 million bpd of seaborne crude capacity.