Crude dips below USD110 as Gustav downgraded

Crude oil has dipped below USD110 Tuesday as Hurricane Gustav was downgraded, failing to leave a trail of destruction in its wake.

A special session of NYMEX was ordered yesterday (trades will be dated Tuesday) despite the US Labor Day holiday which saw crude rise as high as USD118.

Those gains were steadily eroded throughout the day as Gustav was downgraded to a Cat2 Hurricane and passed through the Gulf without causing any major problems.

US refinery operations, which had been closed as a precautionary measure, are expected to re-open today.

At 8am London time crude was $6.33 below Friday's close at $109.13/barrel.