{"text":[[{"start":0,"text":"US diesel prices rose towards new highs on Tuesday as Donald Trump summoned refinery bosses to the White House in a bid to quell an inflationary spiral that threatens Republican hopes in November’s midterm elections."}],[{"start":24.3,"text":"Wholesale diesel for sale in New York harbour jumped almost 7 per cent to $4.71 a gallon after the US president ordered extensive air strikes on Iran, reigniting a conflict that has curtailed oil supplies from the world’s most important energy-producing region."}],[{"start":41.56,"text":"Diesel powers American industry and agriculture and the wholesale contract’s price surge will translate into higher consumer costs just months ahead of congressional elections."}],[{"start":51.8,"text":"Trump on Tuesday held talks with oil industry barons in the White House to press them to beat back the fuel price inflation triggered by his war in Iran."}],[{"start":60.36,"text":"Marathon Petroleum, Phillips 66, Chevron, Delek US Holdings, PBF Energy and Valero Energy were among the companies summoned to Washington, according to people with knowledge of the event."}],[{"start":71.2,"text":"The meeting was to focus on “best ways to increase refining capacity, further unleash American energy dominance across the entire supply chain and bring down prices for the American people”, said White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers ahead of the event."}],[{"start":87.64,"text":"Trump posted a statement on Truth Social after the meeting boasting of his administration’s energy policies, saying he wanted companies to expand US refining capacity and touting environmental exemptions for smaller refineries."}],[{"start":100.8,"text":"Oil supply disruption caused by the Iran war and a loss of global refining capacity following Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian plants have helped keep average US petrol prices above $4 per gallon in August, an almost 30 per cent increase over the past year."}],[{"start":117.12,"text":"After the wholesale price jump for diesel on Tuesday, analysts say its retail price could soon breach the record of $5.80 per gallon struck in 2022 after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine."}],[{"start":130.076,"text":"US refiners and other oil groups have posted record profits in recent months, with the gap between the cost of diesel and crude oil, known as the “crack spread”, soaring above $100 a barrel."}],[{"start":141.32,"text":"In June, Trump accused Big Oil of price gouging and called for a justice department investigation over high petrol prices."}],[{"start":148.48,"text":"Crude prices rose again on Tuesday after the US hit Iran, with international benchmark Brent settling 4.6 per cent higher at $94.65 a barrel."}],[{"start":159.24,"text":"Tom Kloza, chief energy adviser at Gulf Oil, said he expected Trump would try to talk down fuel prices but warned that this could spark a backlash in the US oil sector."}],[{"start":168.98,"text":"“The president has been very successful, perhaps by accident, but certainly very successful in talking down the price of crude oil,” said Kloza. “If not for those verbal interventions on Truth Social, we’d be looking at triple-digit crude prices.”"}],[{"start":182,"text":"“Whether they want to burn bridges with an industry that has been very pro-Trump, that’s a different matter,” he added."}],[{"start":188.44,"text":"Analysts said Trump’s administration had little leeway to influence domestic fuel prices, with refiners already operating plants flat-out and deferring maintenance of facilities to keep churning out more fuel during the peak driving and growing season."}],[{"start":201.08,"text":"As of the week ending August 21, US refinery utilisation had been at or above 95 per cent for 12 consecutive weeks, the longest streak since 2000, according to US Energy Information Administration data."}],[{"start":214,"text":"Some analysts warned the stretched system left the market vulnerable to more disruption. Refineries near the Gulf of Mexico, for instance, could suffer an outage due to a hurricane, driving prices higher, analysts said."}],[{"start":226.76,"text":"“Seasonal stocks of diesel and home heating oil are at historic lows, while planned maintenance at several major refineries — including the sprawling St John refinery in north-east Canada — are likely to pull prices up even higher, absent de-escalation in the Middle East,” said political risk consultants Eurasia Group in a recent note."}],[{"start":244.8,"text":"Joe DeLaura, a global energy strategist at Rabobank, said Trump could consider banning fuel exports from the US."}],[{"start":251.16,"text":"“He’s got to do something to get gasoline prices down but he is also not going to just walk away from the war,” said DeLaura. “It is the only card to pull.”"}],[{"start":259.96,"text":"A Brown University tracker shows that since the conflict began in late February, Americans have paid $52.3bn more for gas than they would have done if prices had remained at their prewar level. They have also paid an extra $43.4bn for diesel."}],[{"start":275.4,"text":"Brown University estimates the cost of the fuel price surge for the average American household at $730.81 and rising."}],[{"start":282.98,"text":"“As consumers, Americans are paying higher prices [for] gasoline and diesel,” said Jeff Colgan, a professor of political science at Brown. “As voters, we’ll find out how they like that in November.”"}],[{"start":299.84,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1788304285_8750.mp3"}