Crude futures eased slightly in electronic trade Friday after hitting record highs in the prior session, as tropical storm Katrina hit the Florida coastline but is expected to miss key oil and natural-gas facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. Crude for October delivery was recently down 4 cents at $67.45 a barrel in electronic trade, after closing at $67.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Thursday. The contract briefly traded as high as $67.62 early Friday. Tropical Storm Katrina, currently classified as category 1, hit South-East Florida overnight, killing at least three people and leaving many without electricity, the BBC reported on its Web site. Forecasts show that the storm will likely miss the Gulf oil and gas rigs off the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The concern for oil markets had been that the storm could move into the Gulf of Mexico, an important source of U.S. oil and natural-gas production.