Crude oil futures ended higher on Tuesday on 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. 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.
Crude oil futures for December rose $1.01 or 2.6 percent to settle at $39.57 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. December Brent crude gained 74 cents or 1.8 percent to settle at $41.20 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.