WSJ: OIL FUTURES: Crude, Gasoline Rise as Isaac Aims at Gulf Coast
--Crude-oil futures up 1%, gasoline futures gain 3.1% on storm worries
--Isaac, aimed at Gulf Coast, seen strengthening into Category 2 hurricane
--Nearly a quarter of U.S. Gulf oil production shut in
By Jerry A. DiColo
NEW YORK--U.S. crude-oil and gasoline futures rose Monday as Tropical Storm Isaac aimed at oil-producing areas of the U.S. Gulf Coast, forcing oil platforms to shut down and prompting worries about refineries in the region.
Light, sweet crude for October delivery recently traded 99 cents, or 1%, higher at $97.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after rising as high as $97.72 a barrel earlier in the session. Brent crude on the ICE Futures exchange rose 18 cents to $113.77 a barrel.
Tropical Storm Isaac has passed over the Florida Keys and into the Gulf of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center said it expects the storm, about 180 miles southwest of Fort Myers, Fla., to strengthen into a Category 2 hurricane before striking the coast. A hurricane warning has been issued for the coast from Morgan City, La., to Destin, Fla., including New Orleans.
The storm's path is expected to take it through some of the largest areas of oil and natural gas production in the Gulf. In preparation, energy producers shut in 24.2%, or 333,815 barrels of oil a day, of the U.S. Gulf's oil production, according to the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.
"We are set to strengthen to a hurricane, so this is very much going to dictate price movements in the coming days," said Matt Smith, an analyst at Summit Energy.
Gasoline futures saw gains Monday, with front-month September reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, recently up 9.41 cents, or 3.1%, to $3.1721 a gallon.
Mr. Smith and others noted that the closure of refineries in the region, and potential damage caused by the storm, could create a supply squeeze, particularly as a major fire continues to rage at Venezuela's biggest oil refinery.
September heating oil recently traded 3.68 cents higher at $3.1469 a gallon.
Write to Jerry A. DiColo at jerry.dicolo@dowjones.com
