Crude oil prices neared $68 a barrel Thursday as Hurricane Rita closed in on Texas, raising fears it would hit key production facilities along the Gulf Coast that were largely untouched by Hurricane Katrina three weeks ago.
Light sweet crude for November rose 90 cents to $67.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On London’s International Petroleum Exchange, November Brent crude oil futures gained 71 cents to $65.44 a barrel.
