Shares of energy companies rose alongside oil futures, as Hurricane Delta strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane, and headed for Louisiana.
Offshore oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has been shut off almost entirely due to the hurricane, with production reduced by 92%, or nearly 1.7 million barrels-of-oil per day.
Natural-gas futures closed at a five-week high of $2.63-per-million British thermal units after a weekly report on gas-in-storage showed a smaller-than-forecast buildup.
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
10-08-20 1639ET
