Oil prices remained steady on Thursday as the Delta variant of the coronavirus continues to weigh on the demand outlook, offsetting a decline in U.S. Gulf of Mexico output because of damage caused by Hurricane Ida. Brent crude rose 4 cents to $72.64 a barrel by 0901 GMT and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 11 cents, or 0.16%, to $72.64. About 77% of U.S. Gulf production remained offline on Tuesday, equating to about 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd). The market has lost about 17.5 million barrels of oil so far. read more The Gulf’s offshore wells make up about 17% of U.S. output. U.S. crude oil production is expected to fall by 200,000 bpd […]