Tropical Storm Chris downgraded to depression

MIAMI, Aug 4 (Reuters) Tropical Storm Chris was downgraded to a depression today as it moved through the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Energy prices responded by retreating from an upswing earlier this week, when traders feared the storm might threaten drilling platforms and exploration rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.

Forecasters said the ragged weather system could still recover strength, however.

''Starting tomorrow, the conditions might become more favorable for strengthening,'' said Jack Beven, forecaster at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

A tropical storm watch or warning might be required for eastern Cuba's north coast, and residents of southern Florida should also monitor the storm, officials said.

Chris disintegrated into a mass of thunderstorms today as sustained winds fell to 35 mph, below the 39-mph threshold for a tropical storm.

At 2030 hrs, Chris' center was about 56 km west-southwest of Grand Turk Island, capital of the Turks and Caicos chain, and was moving west at about 13 mph (21 kph), the hurricane center said.

Its long-range track predicted Chris would be in the Gulf by Monday and at the Texas-Mexico border by Wednesday.

The storm's remnants were expected to drop up to 2 inches of rain across the Dominican Republic, Haiti, the Turks and Caicos, the Bahamas and eastern Cuba, with up to 4 inches in mountainous areas.

The southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands remained under tropical storm warnings telling residents to expect storm conditions within 24 hours. The central Bahamas were under a storm watch, cautioning residents they could see storm conditions in 36 hours.

Experts have predicted another active Atlantic hurricane season, but nothing like the record 28 storms seen in 2005, when hurricanes Katrina and Rita swept into Louisiana and Texas. They shut down a quarter of US crude output and sent oil prices to then record highs.

The Colorado State University team formed by researcher William Gray now predicts up to 15 tropical storms will form in the Atlantic-Caribbean basin this year and that seven will grow into hurricanes.

Reuters SHB GC2251