Crude Oil Prices Rebound to Top $116

U.S. crude oil prices rebounded past the $116 a barrel mark Friday as the threat of Tropical Storm Gustav loomed larger.

The storm, expected to become a hurricane again, continued its lethal path toward the Gulf of Mexico, home to about one-quarter of U.S. crude oil installations. Many companies, including Exxon Mobil, BP, Shell and ConocoPhillips, began putting evacuation plans into effect.

Crude oil prices, which briefly reached $120.50 Wednesday, fell Thursday to $115.59. Oil got some of that back in early electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday by gaining $1.23, or 1.06 percent, to sell at $116.82 a barrel.

The U.S. Energy Department opened the door for the oil plunge by announcing it stood ready to dip into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the case of severe offshore storm damage.

Natural gas also took its lumps in another government report indicating an ample supply on hand for the winter, touching off a selling binge and a 0.6 percent plunge to $7.950 per British thermal unit.

Heating oil was up 2.35 cents to $3.206 a gallon and reformulated gas was up 1.26 cents to $3.034 a gallon.

At the pump, U.S. motorists were paying an average of $3.669 for a gallon of regular gasoline, an increase over Thursday’s $3.660, the AAA said.