Crude and oil product prices struck new record highs in electronic trade Monday, as a major hurricane threatened production in the Gulf of Mexico. Front-dated crude futures were recently up $3.42, or 5.2%, at $69.55 a barrel, having touched $70.80 earlier in the session, the first time the contract has traded above the $70 a barrel level. Meanwhile, natural gas futures rose a staggering 19% to $11.67 per British thermal unit, and earlier climbed above $12. Unleaded gasoline futures rose 20 cents, or 10.4%, to $2.128 a gallon and heating oil jumped 14 cents, or 7.6%, to $1.98 a gallon. Traders have been eyeing Hurricane Katrina's progress for the last week and crude for October delivery struck a peak of $67.95 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday to mark the last intraday record for a benchmark contract. But prices dropped $1.36, or 2%, late in the session to close at a three-day low of $66.13 as fears abated. Over the weekend, the storm - which late last week had been classed as category 1 - gathered ground and hit land early Monday as a category 4 or 5 storm. Gulf of Mexico and onshore oil and natural gas facilities had closed ahead of the storm, a threat to facilities at Port Fourchon, La., near New Orleans, which handles around one-sixth of U.S. oil supply, and rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. Agbeli Ameko, managing partner at First Enercast, said crude prices could push toward $75 a barrel today, while natural gas may move toward $12 per million British thermal units. The hurricane will have a significant short- and long-term impact on energy markets, impacting production off shore and on shore, and shutting in refining and processing facilities. The Minerals Management Service will report shut-in statistics at 2.00 p.m. Eastern Time. As the shut-ins persist, increasing winter supply concerns, the potential for $80 a barrel crude and $15 per million British thermal units natural gas are realistic, said Ameko