Crude futures surged above $67 a barrel Monday amid worries that a storm strengthening off the Bahamas could hit U.S. oil facilities in the Gulf of Mexico later this week, striking another blow at an industry struggling to recover from Hurricane Katrina.
Benchmark light sweet crude for October delivery rose $4.20, or nearly 7 percent, to $67.20 a barrel in midday trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Nymex crude more than $3 off its all-time high of $70.85 hit briefly on Aug. 30 after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf had fallen $1.75 on Friday to its lowest closing price since Aug. 5. On London’s International Petroleum Exchange, November Brent crude rose $3.75 to $65.56 a barrel.
