Crude Oil Prices Falls

Crude oil prices fell after reports indicated that a Caribbean tropical storm likely won't induce heavy damages like Hurricane Katrina, which ripped into Gulf of Mexico platforms and refineries a year ago. According to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, tropical storm Ernesto weakened as it swept over Haiti and carried sustained winds of about 50 miles per hour, less than a third of Katrina's 170 miles per hour winds that tore oil and gas platforms off their moorings. Crude oil for October delivery fell $1.27, or 1.75 percent, to $71.24 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange in Paris. Oil reached $73.75 a barrel on August 25, on concern Ernesto would disrupt output at the Gulf of Mexico, source of a quarter of U.S. oil production. ConocoPhillips, BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc evacuated non-essential personnel from sites at the Gulf due to the impending storm. In London, Brent crude oil for October settlement fell $1.04, or 1.4 percent, to $71.68. (Source: Bloomberg)