8 July 2005, 15:40  Crude-oil futures moved 1% higher early Friday

Crude-oil futures moved 1% higher early Friday, spooked by the first major storm of the 2005 hurricane season and its approach toward the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane Dennis currently is rated a Category 4 storm. In electronic trading, crude for August delivery stood lately at $61.33 a barrel, up 60 cents. The benchmark crude contract closed down 55 cents in Thursday's dealings on the New York Mercantile Exchange, pulling back from record highs above $61 set earlier in the session. In the immediate aftermath of the initial reports of explosions in London's subway system, crude touched the $62-a-barrel mark for the first time. Unleaded gasoline and heating oil both moved to the upside in recent electronic trading as well. August unleaded gas added 3.89 cents to $1.8445 a gallon, while August heating oil won back 1.01 cents to $1.785 a gallon, erasing some of Thursday's Nymex weakness. After digesting the London attacks and the latest U.S. inventories data, traders fixed their attention on Dennis, which was most recently reported tracking to the northwest toward the Gulf, home to numerous offshore petroleum installations and onshore refineries. The prospect of Gulf production shut-ins raised expectations for tight U.S. supplies becoming even scarcer. Dennis, at last report, was packing maximum sustained winds of 135 miles per hour, the National Weather Service said

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