Oil Trims Weekly Drop as Storm Heads for Texas; Gasoline Surges
Front-month crude futures rose 0.7 percent in New York, paring Thursday’s 2 percent decline. Gasoline gained as much as 4.6 percent. While some oil and gas production has shut in the Gulf, the storm is bearing down on an area in the U.S. state of Texas that is home to much of the nation’s refining capacity. If Harvey, currently a Category 2, makes the forecast landfall as a Category 3, it will be the strongest storm to hit since Wilma in 2005. U.S. gasoline prices for September rose to $1.7120 a gallon, the highest intraday price for a front-month contract since April. Ultra-low-sulfur diesel climbed as much as 2 percent to $1.6530 a gallon. Click Read More below for more of the story.