The deep freeze that has covered parts of Texas in ice and dropped temperatures into the single digits helped push the price of West Texas Intermediate crude above $60 a barrel for the first time in over a year.
WTI crude futures gained 1.09 percent to hit $60.12 a barrel Monday morning, the first time they’ve settled above $60 since January of 2020. So far this year, WTI is up 25 percent.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, jumped 1.35 percent to hit a 13-month high of $63.28 a barrel in London. Natural gas futures rose 3.33 percent.
Some of the biggest oil refineries in North America were closed Monday, including Saudi Aramco’s gigantic facility in Port Arthur Texas, according to Bloomberg. Reuters reported that Marathon Petroleum had shut its plant south of Houston near Galveston Bay. Exxon Mobile shut its Baytown refinery.
The shutdowns come as demand for energy and fuel is soaring as Americans deal with widespread deep chills.
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