NEW YORK, Aug 29 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures extended their rise to more than $2 at the start of open outcry trading in New York on Monday, lifted by stronger equities futures after Hurricane Irene did less damage than feared in the New York area and a weaker dollar.
Lack of damage to refineries on the U.S. East Coast, thin volume trading because of a U.K. holiday, and U.S. traders hemmed in by post-storm transport snags also supported crude.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, October crude