Crude traded in a narrow but volatile range on Tuesday as the market grappled with the shutdown of some 13 percent of refining capacity in the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer, after a hurricane ripped through the heart of its oil industry.
The refinery closures helped push U.S. gasoline futures to a two-year high of $1.7799 per gallon on Monday, although they had receded to $1.7195 by 0916 GMT on Tuesday.
International Brent crude futures were 5 cents lower at $51.84 per barrel, having traded as high as $52.19 earlier in the day.
