•Crude futures were down on Monday, as Hurricane Gustav moved closer to making landfall on the US' southern coast yet failed to support the crude oil complex.

•Despite the imminent arrival of Hurricane Gustav, crude oil futures have failed to fully respond during the morning session, market sources said. "There was certainly a premium in the these prices and right now it seems that premium, with Gustav at a Category 3, was overdone," a London-broker he added. "The key will be the height and and ferocity of the pending storm surge; it's touch and go whether the levees will hold," energy analyst Robert Laughlin said.

•Nearly all US Gulf of Mexico oil production was shut Sunday in preparation for the storm, with 96.26% of oil output and 82.3% of gas production lost as of midday Sunday, the US Minerals Management Service said. Estimated current oil production from the Gulf of Mexico under normal conditions is 1.3 mil b/d, while gas production is estimated at 7.4 bil cubic feet/d.

Updated: September 1, 2008