Crude oil prices surged around two percent on Friday due to supply disruptions in the US Gulf of Mexico following hurricane Ida. At 1245 hours GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, gained $1.22 (+1.71 percent) to reach $72.67 a barrel. Similarly, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) reached $69.35 a barrel, up by $1.21 (+1.78 percent). The price for Opec Basket was recorded at $71.19 a barrel with 0.22 percent decrease, Arab Light was available at $71.34 a barrel with a 0.78 percent fall, while the price of Russian Sokol slipped to $72.51 after shedding 0.85 percent. According to experts, the impact from hurricane Ida will continue to linger on for some time, saying that total crude oil production losses as a result of the storm now amount to slightly more than 22 million barrels, and with output still struggling to recover, this would grow. They said that loading disruptions and supply issues due to Ida have likely contributed to the week-on-week decrease in supply, with a few terminals, including Louisiana’s Offshore Oil Port, shut following the storm. Till Thursday, 1.392 million barrels per day of US Gulf of Mexico crude oil production remained offline, according to the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. Despite the uptick in prices, uncertainties loomed as the market came under renewed pressure. China announced on Thursday that it will release a part of its state oil reserves through public auction to offer domestic refiners relief from high feedstock costs. Throughputs at China’s independent refineries in eastern Shandong province have continued to fall in August due to maintenance works and cuts earlier in the month amid weak margins. The combined throughput comprising crude, bitumen blend and fuel oil fell to a 17-month low of 9.45 million MT in August.