Oil rose on signs a glut was easing with U.S. crude stockpiles shrinking for a sixth week.

Oil stayed in its recent tight range after Hurricane Laura swept through the U.S. energy heartland without appearing to inflict major damage on key infrastructure.

DELCAMBRE, La. — Laura strengthened Aug. 26 into a menacing Category 4 hurricane, raising fears of a 20-foot storm surge that forecasters said would be “unsurvivable” and capable of sinking entire communities. Authorities implored coastal residents of Texas and Louisiana to evacuate and worried that not enough had fled.

Environmentalists and Alaska natives are challenging the Trump administration’s decision to sell drilling rights in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, arguing the government gave short shrift to the impact on polar bears and the region’s other wildlife.

Oil is poised for the first weekly decline this month as signs of stumbling recoveries in major economies from Europe to Asia threaten to delay a demand rebound.

Valaris Plc became the latest casualty of the global slump in oil prices, filing for bankruptcy Aug. 19 as the world’s largest offshore rig owner by fleet size seeks to restructure a roughly $7 billion debt load.

The Trump administration on Aug. 17 took another step to opening Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling for oil and gas, potentially fulfilling a decadeslong dream for Republicans.

Oil fell below $42 a barrel in New York as OPEC+ gathered to assess its supply deal, with countries struggling to contain the virus that has hurt economies and fuel demand globally.

Oil is poised to post a second straight weekly gain, buoyed by an improving global economic picture and rising U.S. gasoline demand.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. will have just a single oil rig in the Permian Basin in the second half of the year, illustrating the scale of the shale industry’s pullback and the company’s debt woes.