NEW YORK: Oil prices gained yesterday on concerns about the threat Tropical Storm Gustav poses to US energy infrastructure, helping slam US equities, and the dollar rose as it headed toward its best month since 1992.
New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October, jumped $1.82 to $117.41 per barrel, after bouncing above $120 in intra-day trade on Thursday. London’s Brent North Sea crude for October gained $1.48 to $115.65 yesterday.
US stocks fell more than 1 percent as Dell warned that companies are cutting back on technology spending worldwide and economic data added to market jitters before a long US Labor Day weekend. Shortly after 1 p.m., the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 119.20 points, or 1.02 percent, at 11,595.98. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was down 11.80 points, or 0.91 percent, at 1,288.88. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 37.63 points, or 1.56 percent, at 2,374.01.
The dollar rose against major currencies, with the US Dollar Index up 0.33 percent at 77.385. But against the Japanese yen, the dollar was down 0.67 percent at 108.73 from a from a previous session close of 77.021. The euro was down 0.31 percent at $1.4654 from a previous session close of $1.4720. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar was down 0.67 percent at 108.73 from a previous session close of 109.54.
In Europe, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed 0.3 percent higher at 1,194.73 points.
Japan’s Nikkei share average finished 2.4 percent higher.
