Gasoline Rising to Holiday High as Storm Surge Presses Obama
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Hurricane Isaac and a deadly blast at Venezuela’s Amuay refinery pushed gasoline to an almost four-month high and threatened to revive a debate about energy costs in the run-up to the presidential election in November.
Futures jumped yesterday in New York as Isaac forced closures of Gulf Coast refineries and reduced rates at others. That market is also reeling from an Aug. 25 explosion in Venezuela that killed at least 48 people and closed the country’s largest fuel-making plant. Futures are up 23 percent since their 2012 settlement low of $2.5501 a gallon on June 21.