Crude oil futures rose Thursday on concerns about refinery disruptions due to Tropical Storm Arlene and as traders looked ahead to next week’s meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Light sweet crude for July delivery rose $1.74 to settle at $54.28 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Heating oil rose more 7 cents to $1.6256 a gallon, while unleaded gasoline gained more than 7 cents to $1.5714 a gallon. On London’s International Petroleum Exchange, Brent crude rose $1.71 to settle at $53.82 a barrel.
