Crude Oil Price Rises on Concern Over Potential Hurricane

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rude oil prices closed near $76 a barrel Wednesday on concerns that Tropical Storm Chris may become this year’s first Atlantic hurricane by Thursday and reach Gulf of Mexico oil platforms later this week, Bloomberg reported.

After topping $76, crude futures closed at $75.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 94 cents from Tuesday's close, Bloomberg said. The record closing price of $77.03 was set on July 14.

Meanwhile, oil and gasoline inventories both declined last week, the Department of Energy said Wednesday. Crude stockpiles fell by 1.8 million barrels, while gasoline fell 160,000.

The crude level was down more than an 875,000-barrel drop forecast, while gasoline levels were predicted to dip by 1.8 million barrels, Bloomberg said.

Distillate inventories, which include diesel, rose 660,000 barrels, DOE said.

Tropical Storm Chris was likely to turn into a Category 1 hurricane, the lowest of five strength levels, as it moved north of Puerto Rico on a west-northwest track that would put it between Florida and Cuba heading toward the Gulf later this week, the Associated Press reported.