US petrol prices leapt as tropical storm Isaac churned across the Gulf of Mexico, forcing refineries to batten down operations at a time of declining fuel stocks.
Wholesale petrol prices gained 4.1 per cent to $3.2050 per gallon, the highest level since April, as Isaac was forecast to arrive as a hurricane in states from Louisiana to western Florida early tomorrow. The storm is the biggest threat to Gulf energy infrastructure since hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008.
Isaac could escalate a late-summer rise in petrol prices and encourage Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, to step up attacks on White House energy policy in his campaign against Barack Obama, US president.