Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil, gasoline and heating oil fell in New York after refineries near Houston escaped a direct hit from Hurricane Rita, allowing the industry to prepare for increased energy demand as winter approaches.

Valero Energy Corp., the largest U.S. refiner, said its Houston and Texas City plants may restore processing this week, while Exxon Mobil Corp. said damage to its Houston-area refineries isn't severe. Rita halted the entire 1.5 million barrels of oil a day that the U.S. pumps in the Gulf of Mexico and prompted refineries with 24 percent of U.S. capacity to shut.

``The path of Rita really spared most of the damage to refineries that was the concern in the lead-up'' to the storm, said Gerard Burg, a minerals and energy economist at National Australia Bank Ltd. in Melbourne. ``There's still a lot of pressure on the market particularly due to tight capacity.''

Crude oil for November delivery fell for a third day, declining as much as $1.54, or 2.4 percent, to $62.65 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It traded at $63.65 at 10:17 a.m. Singapore time. The futures declined 3.5 percent on Sept. 23 and started a special Sunday session at 10 a.m. New York time.

Gasoline for October delivery fell as much as 14.56 cents, or 7 percent, to $1.94 a gallon and traded at $2.01 a gallon in electronic trading. It dropped 2.5 percent on Sept. 23.

U.S. gasoline pump prices fell 20 cents from two weeks ago to an average $2.81 a gallon, Trilby Lundberg said, citing a survey of about 7,000 filling stations by her Camarillo, California, research firm.

Stocks, Bonds

Asian stocks rose as the drop in oil prices eased concern that fuel costs will hinder consumer spending in the world's largest economy. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 1.2 percent to 13,311.70 at 10:51 a.m. in Tokyo, led by exporters including Toyota Motor Corp. and Canon Inc.

Bond futures in Japan fell for a fourth day in five and may add to a third weekly drop. Ten-year Japanese bond futures for December delivery fell 0.29 to 138.78 as of 9:05 a.m. in Tokyo. The yield on the benchmark 1.4 percent bond due in September 2015 rose 2.5 basis points to 1.39 percent.

Heating oil for October delivery in New York declined as much as 9.8 cents, or 5 percent, to $1.851 a gallon, and traded at $1.915 at 10:08 a.m. in Singapore.

Natural gas for October delivery fell as much as 3.9 percent in electronic trading on the exchange.

Platforms, Rigs

Rita disrupted power to almost 1.2 million people and flooded low-lying areas such as Port Arthur, Texas, as well as Lake Charles, and Cameron and Vermilion parishes in Louisiana.

The U.S. Coast Guard surveyed the area between Corpus Christi, Texas, and Morgan, Louisiana, with flyovers by C130 aircraft and found that oil platforms and rigs in the Gulf were ``good,'' although a few don't have power, Chief Warrant Officer Adam Wine said yesterday.

The entire Gulf oil production was shut down as of Sept. 24 because of Rita, according to the Minerals Management Service. That's equivalent to about 30 percent of the nation's output.

Hurricane Katrina, which lashed Mississippi and Louisiana last month, was the most expensive disaster in the insurance industry's history.

Valero and Motiva Enterprises LLC reported some damage to refineries in Port Arthur, near where Rita struck land at about 2:30 a.m. local time on Sept. 24 with 120 miles per hour winds. Valero said it would take two to four weeks to repair its Port Arthur refinery.

Refineries

``It appears that most of the refineries weathered the storm,'' said Andy Lipow, president of Houston consultant Lipow Oil Associates LLC, referring to the Houston area. The refineries ``are in the process of getting their people back. I would say start-ups are imminent,'' Lipow said.

The plant shutdowns add to the about 5 percent of U.S. refining capacity that is still inactive because of Hurricane Katrina.

``An additional 4 to 5 percent is likely to be out of service for at least a few weeks in Port Arthur following Rita,'' National Australia's Burg said. ``The hurricane season typically lasts until November, with the peak months being September and October, so we're not out of the woods yet.''

Natural gas last traded 1.9 percent lower at $12.085 per million British thermal units. Heating oil last traded 2.6 percent lower at $1.899 a gallon.

To contact the reporters on this story: Angela Macdonald-Smith in Sydney at amacdonaldsm@bloomberg.net; Bernard Lo in Hong Kong at blo2@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 25, 2005 22:19 EDT