Oil Approaches $61 as Tropical Storms Threaten U.S. Supply

Crude oil approached $61 a barrel in New York after Tropical Storm Cindy disrupted shipments along the U.S. Gulf coast and another storm threatened the region. Gasoline and heating oil rose to a record as refineries shut.

Tropical Storm Dennis may strengthen to a hurricane today, becoming the earliest ever to form in the Atlantic, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The storm may enter the Gulf in three days. Oil output in the Gulf was cut as Cindy approached. Motiva Enterprises LLC closed units at its refinery in Norco, Louisiana, and Murphy Oil Corp. shut a refinery.

“Cindy has passed but Dennis is on the way,” said Aaron Kildow, a broker at Prudential Financial Derivatives LLC in New York. “Dennis looks like it will be much stronger and could lock down platforms in the Gulf. It’s only the first week of July and we’ve had four named storms, which is an awful lot.”
Bloomberg