Americans blame uprisings, speculation for petrol hikes

Faced with skyrocketing oil prices as they struggle to emerge from a deep recession, Americans are blaming speculators and the unrest roiling the Arab world.

As of yesterday, the national average price of regular unleaded gasoline stood at $3.86 per gallon (3.78 liters), while a handful of states such as California ($4.21 average) and New York ($4.07) broke the $4 barrier, according to the AAA motor club. Overall, prices are up $1 from a year ago.

The last record dates back to July 2008, when the price of gas reached a national average of $4.11 per gallon.

In parts of the US capital, the price tag already runs as high as $4.99 per gallon. That’s still a far cry from Europe’s long history of high gas prices and taxes. Europeans pay nearly twice more than Americans, about €5.78 ($8.41) per gallon.

Yet in a sprawling country where cars are ubiquitous and people rely heavily on them, Americans are looking for a scapegoat.

A McClatchy poll found 36 per cent blamed the upheaval sparked by pro-democracy movements in the Middle East and North Africa for the price hikes, while 33 per cent laid blame on greedy oil companies.

Another 11 per cent said it was President Barack Obama’s fault while six per cent found Congress to be responsible.

“There’s plenty of blame to go around for high fuel prices in the minds of Americans,” concluded Lee Miringoff, head of Marist College’s Institute for Public Opinion, which conducted the poll.

But voters may also turn against Mr Obama with his re-election bid gearing up.

Prices are going through the roof at a time when a CBS News/New York Times poll found 70 per cent of Americans believe the country is on the “wrong track” – a 20 per cent increase since Obama took office in January 2009 – while more than half disapproved of his handling of the economy.