WTI oil trading over $75, US hurricanes add strength

WTI oil futures open a new week trading firm over $75 a barrel as new hurricanes sweep towards the US Gulf of Mexico which could affect short term oil production in the region.

US Light crude oil futures for October 2010 delivery opened trading up at $75.20 a barrel, 04.00 GMT this morning on the NYMEX.

“For the next two months, hurricane information will also be supportive, and if there is a supply disruption, then the price goes to $80.” said Ken Hasegawa, a commodity derivatives manager at brokerage Newedge in Japan.

Hurricane Earl was expected to sweep past the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico as a major hurricane on Monday, before turning towards the northwest to weaken and approach the mid Atlantic US coast.

On the heels of Earl, an area of low pressure in the central Atlantic Ocean had an 80 per cent chance of becoming a tropical cyclone in the next 48 hours, according to the NHC.

WTI oil prices gained nearly three percent last Friday following a speech by the US Fed’s Bernanke that calmed fears of a double dip recession and moved stock markets and commodities including oil prices higher.

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