Oil rises on refinery concerns

Associated Press

Oil settled higher Friday, pushed up by lingering concerns that refineries in the Southeast may be affected by Mississippi River flooding.

Benchmark crude for June delivery settled at $99.65 per barrel, up 68 cents on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil has been volatile this week, ranging from $95 to $104 a barrel. It gained 21/2 percent for the week after losing 15 percent last week.

Most refineries in the Gulf States region don’t expect to be affected by flooding from the Mississippi River.

Still, some have lined their facilities with sandbags, moved equipment and prepared other emergency measures.

At least one refinery near Baton Rouge, La., run by Alon USA Energy, plans to close if federal engineers open a massive spillway this weekend to divert floodwaters from Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Hundreds of thousands of acres will be flooded elsewhere.