Oil prices were higher in early US trade on Thursday as expectations of the impact of Hurricane Francine on supply disruptions alleviated ongoing worries about a slowdown in the demand of global crude oil.

Hurricane Francine struck Louisiana on Wednesday after moving across the Gulf of Mexico, causing several oil companies in the storm's trajectory to halt their operations.

Anticipations of reduced supply contributed to a rebound in crude oil prices from the near three-year lows reached earlier this week. However, it seems that this recovery is now losing momentum.

Brent oil added 0.6% to $71.06 per barrel while WTI advanced by 0.8% to $67.84 per barrel.

Crude oil's upward movement was restrained by government data indicating a larger-than-anticipated rise in gasoline and distillate inventories for the week ending September 6.

Although the overall inventory increase was slightly less than expected the rise in product inventories sparked worries that U.S. fuel demand might be weakening as the summer travel season comes to a close.

The inventory data also fueled worries that a slowing U.S. economy could lead to reduced fuel consumption in the months ahead. Concerns about a potential U.S. recession had already been a significant drag on oil prices throughout the past week.

On Wednesday, stronger-than-anticipated consumer inflation data led to speculation that the Federal Reserve might implement a smaller interest rate cut in September. This speculation strengthened the dollar, which in turn exerted pressure on crude oil prices.