Oil jumps on U.S. Gulf storm threat

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil leapt more than $1 on Friday as a storm brewing in the Caribbean threatened to sweep through the U.S. Gulf next week and menace oil supplies yet to recover from last year’s hurricanes.

Support also came from
Iran’s nuclear row with the West that could prompt
United Nations sanctions against the world’s fourth-largest oil exporter, although Russia ruled out such punitive action for now.

U.S. crude was up $1.16 at $73.52 a barrel by 1100 GMT, after gaining 60 cents on Thursday. London Brent rose $1.14 to $73.82.

A spinning band of squalls in the Caribbean was on the verge of becoming Tropical Storm Ernesto and was expected to head northwest toward the Gulf of Mexico by the middle of next week.

Reuters