Oil Prices Eased on News that Dean Spares Gulf Facilities

Oil prices dropped Monday on expectations a strong Atlantic hurricane will spare key oil and gas facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery fell 58 cents to US$71.40 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, mid-afternoon in Singapore. September Brent crude dropped 56 cents to US$69.88 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange in London.

Hurricane Dean, which uprooted trees and tore roofs from homes as it skirted the southern coast of Jamaica on Sunday, was expected to slam into Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula late Monday. Early Monday, the storm had maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (241 kph), up from 145 mph (235 kph) Sunday, and could dump up to 20 inches (50 centimeters) of rain.