Gasoline prices shoot up to a more-than-two-year high on Thursday after a report that the biggest U.S. refinery could remain closed for up to two weeks because of the devastation from the tropical depression Harvey.
U.S. Crude oil prices however posted its biggest monthly drop since March as concerns spread over falling demand in the world’s top oil-consuming country after the tropical storm knocked out almost a quarter of its refineries.
Meanwhile, U.S. gasoline futures were up by 13.7 percent and were being sold at $2.1426 per gallon after reaching its session peak at $2.1678, which is the highest level since June, 2015. The contract was on track for its biggest single session gain since March 2016.
Major pipelines were unable to receive fuel supplies because of the shuttered refineries, raising the prospect of gasoline price spikes during the Labor Day holiday, when many Americans took long drives for the holiday.
Despite the sudden increase in spot prices in the September contracts, there was far more trading volume in contracts for future deliveries, where price gains were more subdued.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures ended the session with a gain of $1.27 or 2.8 percent increase and were being sold at $47.23 per barrel. Although, the contract ended August was down by 5.9 percent marking a fifth monthly decline in six months.
International benchmark Brent crude was up by $1.49 or 2.9 percent to be sold at $52.35 per barrel. The Contract fell be over 2 percent during the previous session.