Oil Rises as Hurricane Ike Threatens U.S.

Oil prices rose more than $2 a barrel Monday in Asia on expectations that Hurricane Ike will hit the Gulf of Mexico later in the week and threaten offshore oil facilities.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery rose $2.16 to $108.3 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Friday, oil settled at a five-month low of $106.23, down $1.66.

The National Hurricane Center reported early Monday that Hurricane Ike had hit Cuba with maximum sustained winds of as much as 120 mph.

Also helping to boost oil prices was a weaker dollar against the euro. The euro rose to $1.4310 from $1.4266 late Friday in New York. The dollar also rose to 108.85 yen from 107.72 Friday.