09:12 AM EDT, 09/13/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Oil prices rose for a third-straight session early on Friday with supply tight as Hurricane Francine shut in 42% of U.S. Gulf of Mexico production.

West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was last seen up US$0.80 to US$69.77 per barrel, while November Brent crude, the global benchmark, was up US$0.68 to US$72.65.

Prices have continued to rebound from three-year lows touched Tuesday on weak demand from China. However Hurricane Francine's passage through the Gulf of Mexico shut in 730,472 barrels per day of supply, according the the U.S. offshore regulator, offering oil bulls a reason to buy despite the ongoing demand concerns.

"Crude prices continued a rebound from a three-year low, despite the IEA warning that global oil demand growth is slowing sharply due to China's cooling economy," Saxo Bank said in a note. "A general supportive risk-on sentiment, combined with hurricane disruptions in the US both supporting a fresh round of short covering with $75 the key level to watch in Brent."

Francine came ashore in Louisiana as a category 2 storm but quickly weakened to a tropical depression, leaving the state's refining hub mostly unscathed and resuming operations, though oil exports ports have yet to resume operations, according to the Energy Information Administration.