Crude oil rose to a record $61.62 a barrel in New York on speculation Hurricane Dennis may disrupt shipments along the U.S. Gulf coast, where 38 percent of U.S. oil is delivered.

Dennis may enter the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend, the U.S. National Hurricane Center forecasted. Last year, oil rose by at least $10 in the month after Hurricane Ivan disrupted shipments in the area. The storm season lasts through November.

"If this gets to Category 3 we are going to see imports completely stopped for a while," said Mark Waggoner, president of Excel Futures Inc. in Huntington Beach, Calif. "Oil and gas production will be cut as well."

Crude oil for August delivery rose as much as 34 cents, or 0.5 percent, in after-hours electronic trading to the highest since trading began in 1983 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract was at $61.56 at 11:47 a.m. in Singapore. Oil has risen 57 percent in a year.

Oil prices rose to a record last week on concern that rising consumption will strain the ability of U.S. refiners to raise stockpiles before demand peaks in the fourth quarter. Prices surged 8.5 percent the past three sessions as Tropical Storm Cindy approached the Louisiana Coast, shutting platforms and the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, the country's biggest oil import terminal.

"The arrival of hurricanes that can cause refinery outages, close platforms and the LOOP was the last thing we needed," said Tom Bentz, an oil broker at BNP Paribas Commodity Futures Inc. in New York.

Oil prices have increased as demand in the U.S. and China grew, straining the production capacity of oil producers, including members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Refineries have raised fuel output to keep pace with summer gasoline demand and store heating oil for winter.

The LOOP Oil Port was to resume operations Tuesday after Tropical Storm Cindy moved ashore. The terminal can handle a million barrels a day.