Oil Falls to Six-Month Low as Refineries Escape Major Damage (Mark Shenk)

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Gas Line

Crude oil fell to a six-month low in New York and gasoline tumbled amid signs that refineries along the Gulf of Mexico coast will soon resume operations after escaping major damage from Hurricane Ike.

Almost 20 percent of the U.S.'s oil refining capacity was shut, limiting fuel deliveries and prompting the Department of Energy to release 309,000 barrels from its strategic reserves. New York Mercantile Exchange electronic trading opened early to allow traders to respond to Ike.

``It looks like we've dodged another bullet,'' said Peter Beutel, president of energy consultant Cameron Hanover Inc. in New Canaan, Connecticut. ``The refineries in the Houston area seem to have come out of the storm remarkably intact.''

Crude oil for October delivery fell $2.07, or 2.1 percent, to $99.11 a barrel at 2:44 p.m. on the Nymex. Futures touched $98.55, the lowest since Feb. 26. Prices are up 25 percent from a year ago. Gasoline for October delivery fell 12.31 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $2.6465 a gallon in New York.

CME Group Inc., the world's biggest futures exchange, began Nymex electronic trading of energy contracts at 10 a.m. New York time today.

Oil in New York has fallen 33 percent from a record $147.27 a barrel on July 11 as high prices and slowing global economic growth reduce demand for fuels. Sales at U.S. retailers dropped in August for a second straight month and July inventories at American businesses increased the most in four years, Commerce Department reports showed last week.