November 4, 2009 - 3:46 PM

Caribbean depression likely to strengthen

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tropical Depression 11 formed in the southwest Caribbean Sea near Costa Rica and Nicaragua and will likely strengthen into a tropical storm later Wednesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Centre said.

Columbia and Nicaragua issued tropical storm warnings, meaning they expect tropical storm conditions to reach the east coast of Nicaragua and the Columbian islands of San Andres and Providencia off Nicaragua's east coast within 24 hours.

The centre of the depression was located about 65 miles (105 km) south-southeast of San Andres Island off the east coast of Costa Rica, the NHC said.

The depression, with winds near 35 miles per hour (56 kph), was moving northwest near 8 mph. The NHC said it would likely continue on that track over the next several days, hitting the Nicaragua coast Wednesday night.

Over the next several days, the NHC projected the system would weaken as it crosses eastern Nicaragua and Honduras over the weekend before regaining tropical depression strength after returning to the open waters of the northwest Caribbean early next week.

Energy traders noted that could put the system on a path into the Gulf of Mexico next week.

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 investors and can be used to hedge other weather risk exposures, can also be affected by the path of a storm.

See http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Marguerita Choy)