Tropical depression likely in Gulf of Mexico: NHC

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A tropical depression may be forming in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico but will not threaten U.S. oil and natural gas facilities, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in a report Tuesday.

The system was located about 180 miles east of Tampico, Mexico.

All five weather models projected that this system would hit the central coast of Mexico over the next couple of days.

The energy market watches for tropical storms in the Gulf because they can disrupt U.S. oil and natural gas production and refining there.

Commodities traders also track tropical storms because they can damage citrus crops in Florida and such crops as cotton along the Gulf Coast.

An Air Force hurricane hunter aircraft will investigate the system later Tuesday.

The NHC will name the next tropical storm Lorenzo. A tropical storm has winds of 39 to 73 miles per hour.

TROPICAL STORM KAREN

Tropical Storm Karen, meanwhile, was moving west-northwest at nearly 15 mph in the Atlantic Ocean and posed no immediate threat to land, the NHC said.