Oil is surging on the expectation that tropical storms will hamper oil production in the Gulf of Mexico. Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude today jumped $2.61, or 3%, to $88.63 per barrel in New York. Brent crude climbed $1.69 to $114.58 in London. The U.S. government reported late Tuesday that Tropical Storm Lee forced 131 oil platforms to evacuate, cutting production by 847,000 barrels per day. That’s about 4% of the oil that the U.S. consumes every day. Traders are now watching a tropical depression in the Atlantic. It’s still 3,000 miles away, but analysts are betting it will be the next of many storms to hamper production this hurricane season. Gasoline pump prices were little changed today, with a national average of $3.657 per gallon.
Oil prices rising as storms cut production
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