Oil Ends Higher

Oil prices settled above $118 a barrel Wednesday as Tropical Storm Gustav spun toward the Gulf of Mexico on a possible collision course with offshore oil and gas platforms.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery rose $1.88 to settle at $118.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier spiking as high as $119.63. The futures contract has risen for three straight days as fears over Gustav at least temporarily halt crude’s steep, month long slide from July’s record price above $147 a barrel.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC and BP PLC said they have begun evacuating some workers from offshore rigs scattered throughout the Gulf, home to about a quarter of U.S. crude production and much of its natural gas.

Originally published by staff and wire report.

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