Oil Rises as Storm Looms Near Gulf
Oil prices rose slightly Monday on concerns that a tropical storm headed toward Florida could disrupt oil operations in the Gulf of Mexico, the Associated Press reported.
Oil rose to $114, up from Friday’s $113.77 close, as Tropical Storm Fay moved over Cuba and was on target to make landfall on Florida’s west coast Tuesday or Wednesday, AP said.
The storm, which killed at least five people after in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, was expected to become a hurricane, AP said.
Royal Dutch Shell evacuated about 360 workers from Gulf of Mexico rigs over the weekend in anticipation the storm could turn west, AP reported.
Fay is the sixth storm of the 2008 hurricane season and no other storms have yet significantly affected oil platforms or installations in the Gulf of Mexico.
