Oil prices settled lower on Monday as Hurricane Harvey hits US refiners.
Now tropical storm Harvey ravaged Houston and other parts of Texas over the weekend. Houston is home to several of the major US refineries, Xinhua reported.
Analysts said as refineries were forced to shut operation in severe weather, gasoline prices rose sharply.
Oil prices fell as the refinery shutdowns could reduce demand for American crude.
The West Texas Intermediate for October delivery lost $1.30 to settle at $46.57 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for October delivery erased $0.52 to close at $51.89 a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
