U.S. crude ends 1.5 pct up on platform fire, Earl

NEW YORK, Sept 2 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures prices settled 1.5 percent higher on Thursday, lifted above $75 a barrel by an oil platform fire in the Gulf of Mexico and Hurricane Earl's possible impact on East Coast refineries.

Oil also received some lift from U.S. equities, boosted by encouraging pending home sales, retail sales and jobless claims, and also the weaker dollar.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, October crude <CLV0> rose $1.11, or 1.5 percent, to settle at $75.02 a barrel, trading from $73.11 to $75.14. (Reporting by Robert Gibbons)