Crude Prices Fall as Wilma Weakens Slightly
urricane Wilma weakened slightly Thursday to a Category 4 hurricane from a Category 5 and forecasters continued to project the storm would turn east toward the southwest coast of Florida — and away from Gulf Coast oil rigs — by the late weekend or early next week, news services reported.
Crude oil futures fell 61 cents to $61.80 a barrel in intraday trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday, Bloomberg reported. Prices hit a record $70.85 Aug. 30 following Hurricane Katrina’s landfall near New Orleans.
Wilma was packing sustained winds of 145 mph and the National Hurricane Center said it was expected to hit Cancun, Mexico early Friday, the Associated Press reported.
Tourists were ordered out of the Florida Keys Wednesday, and authorities were poised to move out thousands of others Thursday from low-lying areas throughout the storm’s projected path in the Caribbean, AP reported.
