BLBG:Crude Oil Erases Decline as Tropical Depression Forms in Gulf of Mexico
Oil erased its decline in New York after a tropical depression formed in the Gulf of Mexico, shutting production platforms.
Crude for October delivery was unchanged at $88.93 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier falling as much as 31 cents. The contract yesterday climbed 12 cents to settle at the highest level in four weeks as the weather system developed.
The tropical depression has shut nearly 6 percent of the region’s oil output and could approach the southern coast of Louisiana this weekend, according to the National Hurricane Center. The system, about 225 miles (360 kilometers) southwest of the Mississippi River mouth, is traveling northwest at 6 miles per hour and may strengthen into a tropical storm before reaching Louisiana’s coast Sept. 3, the Miami-based center said in an advisory issued before 8 p.m. East Coast time.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Gordon at pgordon6@bloomberg.net
