WTI Oil Ends Lower, But Gasoline, Natural Gas Rise On Gulf Of Mexico Storm

Oil settled lower Thursday, pressured as expectations that Hurricane Harvey in the Gulf of Mexico may weaken demand for energy outweighed support from production slowdowns in the region. Natural-gas prices, however, inched a bit higher, while gasoline prices rallied on potential disruptions to processing facilities and refineries. October West Texas Intermediate crude lost 98 cents, or 2%, to settle at $47.43 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. September natural gas ended at $2.949 per million British thermal units, up 2.1 cents, or 0.7%, and September gasoline jumped 4.5 cents, or 2.8%, to end at $1.664 a gallon-the highest finish for this month to date.