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Gulf of Mexico storm lifts oil
26.08.08
Oil prices edged above $115 a barrel today on concerns that Tropical Storm Gustav may strengthen and disrupt oil operations in the Gulf of Mexico.
US October crude was up 35 cents at $115.46 a barrel and Brent rose 42 cents to $114.45. But a stable dollar was keeping prices from rising further.
Gustav, with winds of around 60 mph, is due to hit Haiti today.
Oil is also facing upward pressure from concerns about supplies from Russia after the country's politicians voted to recognise the independence of the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which carries up to a million barrels of crude a day from Azerbaijan through Georgia to Turkey's Mediterranean coast, has resumed flows after being closed by a blast on 5 August.
Meanwhile, Iran has said that it may urge the Opec oil cartel to cut production to support crude prices after a decline of more than $30 a barrel since July.
