London — Oil prices dropped on Monday on concerns that Hurricane Irma’s pounding of heavily populated areas of Florida could dent oil demand in the world’s top oil-consuming nation. Losses were capped by weekend talks between Saudi Arabia’s energy minister and counterparts over a possible extension to a pact to cut global oil supplies beyond next March. Brent crude oil futures for November delivery were down 66c at $53.12 a barrel while benchmark US West Texas Intermediate crude declined 33c to $47.15. Irma knocked out power to nearly 5.8-million Florida homes and businesses on Sunday after millions were told to evacuate ahead of the storm. "We believe that Irma will have a negative impact on oil demand but not on oil production or processing," Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note. Irma hit Florida on Sunday morning as a dangerous Category 4 hurricane. It gradually lost strength and weakened to a tropical storm by Monday morning as it headed towards Georgia. It comes on the heels o...
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