Oil rises as dollar falls, US Gulf Coast braces for hurricane

Oil prices rose on Friday as the dollar fell and as US petroleum industry braced for Hurricane Harvey, which could become the biggest storm to hit the US mainland in more than a decade. US crude futures were up 30 cents, or 0.6 per cent, at $47.73 a barrel by 1:58 pm EDT (1758 GMT). Brent crude was 19 cents higher at $52.23. US crude's discount to Brent widened to its biggest in two years. Harvey became a Category 2 storm as it crossed the Gulf of Mexico with winds of 110 mph (175 kph), 145 miles (235 km) off Port O'Connor, Texas, the National Hurricane Centre said.