US gasoline pump prices climb even as refineries restart

NEW YORK: US retail gasoline prices climbed, even as oil refineries rumbled back into service after Hurricane Harvey disrupted operations along the Texas coast.

The average gasoline price was US$ 2.648, 30.2 cents higher than a month ago, according to motorist advocacy group AAA.

Gasoline prices normally retreat after the US Labor Day holiday weekend.

Pump prices stayed higher, although benchmark US gasoline futures fell nearly 4 per cent as refineries restarted.

Futures traders worried that the approaching Hurricane Irma could disrupt demand while supply recovered as most refineries returned to service.

Research company IIR said an estimated 3.67 million barrels a day of US oil refining capacity was shut during the week to Sept 8.

“The recovery from Hurricane Harvey has accelerated over the weekend, with prolonged dry weather helping the decline in flood levels,” Goldman Sachs analysts led by Damien Courvalin wrote.

Half of shut-in refinery capacity should be back online by Thursday, they said.

Harvey killed more than 60 people, dumped over 50 inches (127 cm) of rain and damaged 203,000 homes.

About a quarter of US refining capacity was shuttered.

The Department of Energy had loaned more than 5 million barrels of oil from the US emergency reserve to four Gulf Coast refining companies. — Reuters