Another one of the 12 railroad unions narrowly approved its deal with the major freight railroads Saturday, offering some hope that the contract dispute might be resolved without a strike even though two other unions rejected their agreements last month. Now that 52% of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers members who voted approved their deal, seven railroad unions have ratified contracts that include 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses, but all 12 have to approve contracts to prevent a strike.

Front-month crude futures rose 0.7 percent in New York, paring Thursday’s 2 percent decline. Gasoline gained as much as 4.6 percent. While some oil and gas production has shut in the Gulf, the storm is bearing down on an area in the U.S. state of Texas that is home to much of the nation’s refining capacity. If Harvey, currently a Category 2, makes the forecast landfall as a Category 3, it will be the strongest storm to hit since Wilma in 2005. U.S. gasoline prices for September rose to $1.7120 a gallon, the highest intraday price for a front-month contract since April. Ultra-low-sulfur diesel climbed as much as 2 percent to $1.6530 a gallon. Click Read More below for more of the story.

Futures fell 2.5 percent in New York. China’s oil refining dropped the most in three years in July, while crude output retreated from the highest this year. Libya’s biggest oil field, Sharara, cut output by more than 30 percent because of security threats, a person familiar with the matter said. Meanwhile, the dollar strengthened, eroding the lure of commodities as a store of value. "We’re seeing some strength in the dollar, and the preponderance of news seems to be favoring the bears right now," Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group Inc. in Chicago, said by telephone. "If you look at the China data this morning, when it came to the China refinery runs being down in July, that’s adding to the perception of slowing demand, and it’s offsetting the concerns about Libyan oil production." Click Read More below for additional detail.