NEW YORK — Oil prices fell Tuesday as workers headed back to deep-sea platforms that were bypassed by a rapidly weakening storm in the Gulf of Mexico.
Ida, once a Category 1 hurricane, was downgraded to a tropical storm Monday and then lost even that status Tuesday as its winds lost their punch.
Producers such as Royal Dutch Shell and Anadarko reported no damage to facilities and said flights would bring workers back to abandoned rigs.
Benchmark crude for December delivery fell 38 cents to settle at $79.05 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Even on Monday, when Tropical Storm Ida posed a potential threat to Gulf platforms, it appeared that the effects of a weakened dollar played a more significant role as oil prices rose $2 to $79.43.
Even though there are huge supplies of crude, the sagging dollar allows investors to buy oil and pay for storage, selling the oil months later when the price is right. The Associated Press
