Oil hits one-day record
Traders worry as storm approaches
NEW YORK -- Crude-oil futures yesterday surged more than $4 -- the biggest one-day price jump ever -- amid worries that Tropical Storm Rita strengthening off the Bahamas could hit US oil facilities in the Gulf of Mexico this week, striking another blow at an industry struggling to recover from Hurricane Katrina.
The swells in crude, heating oil, and gasoline futures came as OPEC ministers met to discuss how to relieve price pressures in the oil market and expressed concern that Rita would bear down on the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast.
Benchmark light, sweet crude for October delivery rose $4.39, or 7 percent, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Nymex crude -- still more than $3 off its all-time high of $70.85 hit briefly on Aug. 30 after Katrina hit the Gulf -- had fallen $1.75 Friday to its lowest closing price since Aug. 5. Heating oil surged more than 20 cents to $2.0384 a gallon, while gasoline rose nearly 26 cents to $2.0427 a gallon.
Brent crude for October rose $3.80 to $65.61 on London's International Petroleum Exchange.
''The main driver today is Tropical Storm Rita. We really can't afford to lose more production," said Phil Flynn, analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago.
In Florida, thousands began evacuating the Florida Keys as Rita built up speed off the Bahamas about 380 miles from Key West.
