Oil, gas prices rise on storm fears
The Associated Press reports this morning that a "relatively weak" storm hundreds of miles south of Puerto Rico is sending oil and natural-gas prices higher on fears that it could strengthen and threaten Gulf of Mexico oil production by next week.
World energy markets are already focused on Iran's stand-off with the West over its nuclear program. Oil prices actually fell earlier this week after U.S. Department of Energy weekly data showed a rise in gasoline stockpiles.
Tropical Storm Ernesto formed Friday over the Caribbean as it moved toward Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said, and it could develop next week into the first hurricane of the 2006 Atlantic season.
Oil traders are concerned about the possibility of Iran, the world's fourth-biggest oil producer, blocking oil exports if it's sanctioned by the United Nations over its nuclear program. The U.N. set an Aug. 31 deadline for Iran to halt its nuclear program but Tehran said Tuesday that it wants to negotiate further.
T.S. Ernesto will become hurricane Ernesto and there's a pretty good chance that hurricane Ernesto is going to cause a Katrina-scale catastrophe in Central Florida. The wise should begin planning their evacuation now, if you wait too long you might find yourself stuck in a traffic jam on I-4 with a major hurricane in your rear view mirror.
No one should underestimate Ernesto's potential impact. Given Florida's population density it is quite possible that Ernesto will take more lives that Katrina. Don't wait for an evacuation order, if you wait that long it might be too late.
Posted by: David Mathews | August 26, 2006 at 01:50 PM