Oil rose from the lowest level in almost four months

Oil rose from the lowest level in almost four months in New York on speculation that demand will soon rebound after Atlantic superstorm Sandy made landfall on the U.S. East Coast.

Futures climbed as much as 0.8 percent after the storm came ashore in southern New Jersey at 8 p.m. local time yesterday and drove floodwaters to life-threatening levels in a region with 60 million residents. Phillips 66 (PSX), Hess Corp. (HES), NuStar Energy LP (NS) and PBF Energy Inc. (PBF) reduced refinery operations on the U.S. East Coast because of Sandy.

Six refineries curbed production because of Sandy, accounting for 1.22 million barrels of the area’s crude- processing capacity of 1.29 million barrels a day, according to data. The storm may cut East Coast gasoline supplies to the lowest level since at least 1990, based on Energy Department data.

Crude oil for December delivery rose to $86.24 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract settled at $85.54 yesterday, the lowest since July 10. Prices are down 13 percent this year.

Brent oil for December settlement slipped 24 cents to $109.20 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark crude premium to West Texas Intermediate contract narrowed to $23.25. The spread widened for a sixth day yesterday to $23.90.