Third Named Tropical Storm Pushes Oil Past $75 a Barrel

August 1, 2006 12:30 PM, EDT

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rude oil prices pushed to more than $75 a barrel Tuesday as a third named tropical storm formed and a strong heat wave moved across the United States, Bloomberg reported.

Benchmark light sweet crude oil was trading at $75.35 on the New York Mercantile Exchange as Tropical Storm Chris formed in the Caribbean and was on a track to potentially move into the Gulf of Mexico early next week, Bloomberg said.

Crude futures have only closed at more than $75 once in the past two weeks on the Nymex, closing at $75.05 on July 24. The record closing price of $77.03 was set on July 14.

August and September are considered the peak months for hurricane formation, Bloomberg reported, citing the National Hurricane Center.