WTI crude oil prices are steady early on Friday after posting gains over the past three consecutive sessions as oil companies in the Gulf of Mexico region get ready to restart production after Hurricane Sally even as Saudi Arabia reported an increase in exports. At the time of writing, WTI crude oil is trading at around $41.17 per barrel.

Oil rigs in Gulf of Mexico were shut down for five days on account of the tropical storm which has since weakened into a depression. Concerns about supply disruption due to the hurricane had supported crude oil prices over the past few sessions, but with production set to resume, oil traders are back to focusing on weak demand fears.

Crude oil prices received some support after data released showed an increase in exports from Saudi Arabia to 5.73 million bpd during July. Exports from the world’s largest oil producer had fallen to a record low during the previous month as a result of the pandemic-driven lockdowns.

In addition, oil traders got some relief after the latest OPEC meeting on Thursday when leading oil producing nations stated that they would take strict action against members of the group that are not complying with the call for deeper production curbs. Since August and till December, OPEC and its allies have committed to cutting oil supply by 7.7 million bpd.