U.S. National Hurricane Center

Monster Hurricane Irma slammed into  the island of Barbuda early yesterday as it barreled its way across the Caribbean packing ferocious winds and potential for towering coastal surges.

Oil markets were roiled on Monday after Hurricane Harvey wreaked havoc along the U.S. Gulf coast over the weekend, knocking out numerous refineries and some crude production, Reuters reported.

Gasoline prices hit two-year highs as massive floods caused by the storm forced refineries across the U.S. Gulf Coast to shut down.

Hurricane Otto churned toward the sparsely-populated Caribbean coast border of Nicaragua and Costa Rica yesterday as an unusually strong late-season storm.