Singapore — Petrol prices hit $2 a gallon for the first time since 2015 on Thursday as flooding from storm Harvey knocked out almost 25% of US refineries, while crude prices stabilised following a slump the previous day. Harvey has battered the US Gulf coast since last Friday, ripping through Texas and Louisiana at the heart of the US petroleum industry. At least 4.4-million barrels a day of refining capacity was offline, or almost a quarter of total US capacity, based on company reports and Reuters estimates. Amid the fear of a supply squeeze, US petrol prices on Thursday jumped to $2 a gallon for the first time since July 2015. "The flooding from Hurricane Harvey shut the largest refinery in the US, pushing [petrol] prices to a two-year high. In contrast, oil prices retreated," ANZ bank said. Goldman Sachs said it could take several months before all production could be brought back online. "While no two natural disasters are similar, the precedent of Rita-Katrina would suggests t...
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