As Tropical Storm Chris threatened to reach hurricane strength Wednesday, Aug. 2, a nervous oil market saw prices rise above $76 per barrel.

Light, sweet crude was trading for $76.06 per barrel in midday trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That’s still more than $2 short of the price of $78.40, set on July 14.

The latest forecast for Tropical Storm Chris has it reaching the Gulf of Mexico as late as Monday.

Meanwhile, ProMiles is reporting a national average for diesel of $3.019 per gallon on Wednesday Aug. 2, marking the second day in a row of prices above $3 per gallon.