NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Danny was located about 550 miles off the coast of North Carolina on Thursday and was expected to slowly strengthen into the season's second hurricane during the next couple of days as it heads more north to northeast on Friday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said
As of 11 a.m. EDT, Danny was packing winds near 60 miles per hour with higher gusts south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, and "wobbling" westward, moving somewhat erratically at about 13 mph, the NHC said.
Tropical storms pack winds in excess of 39 mph and reach hurricane status when maximum sustained winds reach 74 mph.
The NHC said interests from the Carolinas northward to New England should monitor the progress of the storm.
Several forecast tracks show the storm tracking north along the U.S. East Coast, once again toward Nova Scotia and Canadian Maritimes, on a similar path to last weekend's first hurricane of the 2009 season, Bill.
The NHC will issue its next advisory on Danny at 5 p.m. EDT.
The NHC was also monitoring a tropical wave over the far eastern Atlantic about 300 miles south-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands with a low chance -- less than 30 percent -- of becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours.
Energy traders keep a close eye on storms that could enter the Gulf of Mexico and disrupt offshore U.S. oil and natural gas production or refinery operations along the coast.
Commodities traders likewise watch storms that could damage agriculture crops such as citrus and cotton in Florida and other states along the coast to Texas.
Pricing of insurance-linked securities, which transfer insurance risks associated with natural disasters to capital markets investor and can be used to hedge other weather risk exposures, can also be affected by the path of a storm.
For additional news on the insurance-linked securities market, go to http://communities.thomsonreuters.com/ILS
(Reporting by Eileen Moustakis; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
