The price of oil inched higher on Friday as Hurricane Ike neared the Texas Coast, closing a quarter of US crude oil and refinery production.
US crude rose 31 US cents to settle at $US101.18 a barrel, trading from $US99.99 to $US102.89 per barrel. London Brent fell 6 US cents to $US97.58 a barrel.
The gains were tempered by mounting concerns that high energy costs and an economic slowdown were cutting deeply into global fuel demand - worries that briefly had crude below the $100 mark for the first time since early April.
Oil prices are down about 30% from a peak over $US147 a barrel hit in mid-July, pulled lower by softening demand and a recent rebound in the US dollar.
