Crude oil prices rose to their highest level in nearly six weeks as tropical storm Nicholas threatened to disrupt the region's energy industry at a time when oil supplies in the Gulf of Mexico were slowly recovering.

New York crude oil futures rose as much as 1.8% on Monday. Parts of Houston and Louisiana, which were hit by Hurricane Ida two weeks ago and are still recovering, are expected to see torrential rains from Hurricane Nicholas. Nearly 50% of the oil supply in the Gulf of Mexico remains closed, and the proportion of production stoppage is likely to increase again. Given the path of the storm, Texas refineries and oil terminals may also be affected.

"as new tropical storm Nicholas in the Gulf of Mexico is likely to turn into a hurricane and hit Texas in the coming days, the threat of more disruption from extreme weather is also a concern for producers and drives up price premiums," said Nishant Bhushan, an oil market analyst at industry consultancy Rystad Energy.

With crude oil prices rising steadily this month, major Wall Street banks are evaluating the crude oil market. Goldman Sachs Group said crude oil could lead commodity gains in the next quarter amid strong demand and "increasingly scarce" supply. Bank of America Corporation said that if the winter temperature is lower than expected, it may push the oil price to $100 sometime early next year.

Meanwhile, OPEC predicted on Monday that demand for its crude oil would strengthen this year and next amid increased global fuel use and disruptions in production from the North Sea to the US. OPEC's monthly report points out that even if OPEC countries restart idle production, the world will still face supply shortages in the coming months.

Price:

West Texas Intermediate futures rose 76 cents to $70.48 a barrel at 10:53 New York time.

Brent crude rose 65 cents to $73.57 a barrel, up 1.4% earlier.