Crude Up Nearly $2/Bl, Natural Gas Up 6% on Hurricane Gustav Concerns

Crude Check: Crude for October Delivery is up $1.71 to $116.82 per barrel on NYMEX. The day's range for Crude has been $112.36 to $117.89.

Natural Gas Check: Natural Gas for September Delivery is up $0.45 to $8.276 on NYMEX. The day's range for Natural Gas has been $7.888 to $8.350.

Driving the upside in crude and natural gas today is forecasts that show that Hurricane Gustav may enter the key Gulf of Mexico region. The morning, the National Hurricane Center said Gustav had sustained winds of 90 miles per hour.

Energy Related ETF are also higher today: Energy Select Sector SPDR (AMEX: XLE) +1.8%, Oil Services HOLDRs (AMEX: OIH) +1.8%, United States Natural Gas (AMEX: UNG) +5.9%.

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