Oil Rises After Refinery Fire, Hurricane Season Forecast

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rude oil prices rose to more than $70 a barrel Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after a fire at the biggest U.S. refiner raised concern over gasoline supplies, Bloomberg reported.

Crude oil futures rose as much as 77 cents to $70.73 a barrel on the Nymex following a fire at Valero Energy Corp.'s St. Charles, La., refinery, Bloomberg said.

Prices also rose on concern that storms may disrupt output in the Gulf of Mexico when the Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1, Bloomberg said.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said as many as six major hurricanes will form in the Atlantic Ocean in 2006, predicting another intense year of storms after last year's destructive and deadly storm season.