London — Oil prices steadied on Friday after almost a week of sharp rises as Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful storms in a century, drove towards Florida after tearing through the Caribbean. Irma is the second major hurricane to approach the US in two weeks and has already killed 14, flattening whole islands. Its predecessor, Harvey, shut a quarter of US refineries and 8% of US oil production. "Hurricanes can have a lasting effect on refinery and industry demand," said Eugen Weinberg, head of commodities research at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. "The impact of the forces of nature on US oil production should not be overestimated — nor should their impact on demand be underestimated." Brent crude was up five US cents at $54.54 a barrel by 9am GMT, after earlier reaching its highest since April at $54.80. US light crude oil was 30c lower at $48.79 barrel. Brent found some support from news that Saudi Arabia will cut crude oil allocations to its customers worldwide in October by 350...
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