Ike slammed into the Bahamas causing serious damage, hurt the relief efforts already underway in already suffering Haiti, and just went ashore in Cuba roughly an hour ago. The storm is now a Category 3 Hurricane, down froma 4, and is expected to come in to the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday or Wednesday.
The current storm track can be found here and here. Storm models show Ike drifting east or west of New Orleans, which can give the city a break but can mean trouble for Houston, Mississippi or Alabama.
Something to keep in mind: the price of oil. NYMEX Crude and Nymex Henry Hub Futures (Natural Gas) are both up 2.26 and 3.0% respectively. If the storm causes a shutdown of oil / gas production and OPEC cuts oil output expect the prices to rise.
Update: Oil Price Coverage
- WSJ - Energy sector Hums Again
- Reuters - Oil rises over $2 to top $108 on hurricane threat
From the Reuters article…
Hurricane Ike is expected to enter the Gulf of Mexico as a severe Category 4 storm, a U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency official said on Sunday. It may threaten Gulf energy rigs that account for a quarter of U.S. oil output and 15 percent of natural gas production.
With nearly 88 percent of crude-oil and 74 percent of natural-gas output shut due to Hurricane Gustav, it is easy to see how Ike could shut down all production once again.
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