Posted on 09/25/2005 8:17:42 AM PDT by BenLurkin
NEW YORK (AP) -- Crude oil futures fell sharply in unusual Sunday trading as it appeared that oil rig and refinery damage from Hurricane Rita was less than originally feared. Oil prices had climbed steadily last week as Rita churned through the Gulf of Mexico as a category 4 hurricane, but fell Friday as the storm weakened before landfall early Saturday morning.
In early trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a barrel of light crude for November delivery was quoted at $63.08, down $1.12. Heating oil dropped 7.6 cents to $1.8895 per gallon, while unleaded gasoline fell 10.16 cents to $1.984 gallon.
On London's International Petroleum Exchange, which also opened trading earlier than usual, Brent crude futures tumbled $2.59 to $62.01.
The Nymex and IPE offered extended Sunday hours in hopes of mitigating any volatility in the wake of Rita. Given the relative lack of damage from Rita, especially compared to Hurricane Katrina's devastation, trading was light, however.
Rita did cause damage to some of the Texas Gulf Coast's refineries. Valero Energy Corp.'s Port Arthur refinery, which produces 255,000 barrels a day, could be out of service two weeks to a month due to damages.
Motiva Enterprises Inc. and Citgo Petroleum Corp. also reported damage to plants in Port Arthur and Lake Charles, La., respectively. However, other refineries in the Houston area operated by Exxon Mobil Corp., BP PLC, Marathon Petroleum Co. and Valero appeared to have sustained only minor damage.
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