02:44 PM EDT, 09/11/2024 (MT Newswires) -- West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil rose off a three-year low on Wednesday even as a report showed an rise in U.S. inventories last week, while Hurricane Francine forced the shut in of nearly 675,000 barrels per day of Gulf of Mexico oil production.

WTI crude for October delivery closed up US$1.56 to settle at US$67.31 per barrel after falling to the lowest since August, 2021, a day earlier. November Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen up US$1.42 to US$70.61.

The rise comes even after the Energy Information Administration reported U.S. oil inventories rose by 0.8-million barrels last week, while the consensus estimate from analysts polled by Reuters called for a rise of 0.99-million barrels. The report countered a day-prior survey from the American Petroleum Institute that showed a 2.79-million barrel drop in stocks.

Oil rose despite the rise in stocks as prices were down 13% since the start of the month as slowing economies in the United States and China raised demand worries even as global inventories continue to fall.

"Persistent economic concerns have reduced market expectations around global oil demand growth. Slowing global economic activity and reduced fuel demand in China ... as well as signs of slowing U.S. job growth in recent months, have limited any upward price momentum in recent months," the EIA noted in its Short-Term Energy Outlook released on Tuesday. "However, we still expect oil prices will rise in the coming months, driven by ongoing withdrawals from global oil inventories as a result of OPEC+ production cuts."

Supply is also being reduced as Gulf of Mexico producers evacuate platforms as Hurricane Francine tracks through the gulf ahead of making an expected landfall in Louisiana later on Wednesday. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement reported 171 producing platforms were evacuated with 674,033 barrels per day of production shut in by the storm, 39% of gulf supply.