Concerns about oil supplies helped push the price of benchmark crude up 34 cents to $85.88 a barrel in New York today.
Brent crude, which is used to price many international types of crude, fell 41 cents to $109.03 a barrel.
The Nymex was closed today because of Hurricane Sandy, but electronic trading continues.
The biggest refineries in the northeastern US shut down or cut back their activities sharply as the storm came ashore into New Jersey and hurled seawater at New York City, closing US financial markets.
Analysts said the impact on demand, with power outages and the shutdown of major cities, could be significant, although there was the likelihood that some oil imports would also be cut off.
