Hurricane Harvey: US petrol prices rise as key pipeline shut

US petrol prices have risen after a key network of pipelines was shut in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, sparking fears of a squeeze on fuel supplies to major US cities.


The hurricane has already forced the closure of nearly a quarter of US oil refining capacity.

Colonial Pipeline said it was closing its pipelines delivering diesel, petrol and aviation fuel along the East Coast.

European traders are scrambling to provide additional supplies.

At least 33 people have been killed in eastern Texas since the storm hit. The US National Weather Service has now downgraded it to a tropical depression.

But consequences of the storm are still being felt in Texas, with reports on Thursday of black smoke issuing from a damaged chemical plant.

There are fears that chemicals there could combust, causing explosions.

Heavy rainfall is expected from Louisiana to Kentucky over the next three days, and flood warnings remain in effect for south-east Texas and parts of south-west Louisiana.
  [BBC]
31/8/17
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