WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil prices surged higher on Tuesday after oil wells and refineries in Texas were shut down due to cold.
Texas, the biggest crude producing state in the United States, produces roughly 4.6 million barrels of oil per day and is home to 31 refineries.
Worries about supply due to rising tensions in the Middle East following the drone attack by Yemen's Houthi group on Saudi Arabian airports contributed as well to oil's uptick.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended up $0.58 or about 1% at $60.05 a barrel, after hitting a 13-month high of $60.33 a barrel.
Brent crude futures were up $0.17 or 0.27% at $63.47 a barrel a little while ago.
Meanwhile, Natural Gas futures for March rose $0.22 or about 7.5% to settle at $3.129 per million Btus.
On Monday, the Houthi group said it had struck a couple of Saudi Arabian airports with drones. The coalition led by Saudi Arabia said earlier on Monday that it had destroyed a drone fired by the Houthis toward the kingdom.
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