$2 rate angers US drivers

The price of petrol, which has breached the $2 a gallon barrier, is rapidly becoming a political issue as America moves toward presidential elections in November, with drivers complaining bitterly about soaring costs.

According to gasbuddy.com, a website for drivers to compare prices across the US, the average price at the pump yesterday was $2.04 (£1.11), up from $1.47 a year ago. Californians are paying the most, an average of $2.30. The website claims to be getting up to 500,000 hits a day as drivers trawl around for lower prices.

Even before the current inflation, the Bush administration was aware of the potency of the issue in the minds of voters.

A television advertising campaign has been warning that if Mr Bush's Democratic opponent John Kerry had his way, drivers would be paying another 50 cents per gallon because of his past support for higher taxes.

The Bush administration has also used the higher prices to lambast Congress for stalling its controversial energy plan, which among other things would have allowed drilling in the Arctic wildlife reserve. "I anticipated this three years ago," Mr Bush said recently. "On the one hand, they [Democrats] decry the price at the pump, and on the other hand, they won't do anything about it."

Democrats in turn have been attempting to pin blame on the administration for the higher prices.

A group of seven attorney generals from Democratic states recently called on the White House to support an investigation into profiteering at the big oil companies, a clear challenge to an industry closely associated to the pres ident and others in the administration. The US has stockpiled 660m barrels of oil for use in emergencies but the White House has resisted calls to release some of the reserves to flatten prices.

Pollster John Zogby, who runs research firm Zogby International, says the price of petrol is usually an ancillary issue for voters. "If everything else is going well and petrol prices are being pushed up it's not much of a concern," he said. "But if everything is going to hell in handbasket, which it feels like it is, then rising petrol prices on top of the rest becomes an issue."

The price rises do not appear to have reduced the number of vehicles on the road. Reports suggested that a record number of motorists took trips during last weekend's Memorial Day holiday, the long weekend that is the traditional start to the summer and the driving season in the US.