President Donald Trump says his administration will use the Defense Production Act to spend $150m on increasing US petrol and diesel production, in a bid to bring down fuel prices, CBS News reports.
The Energy Department said the funding would raise refining output by millions of gallons a day. Petrol averaged $4.29 a gallon and diesel $6.32 on Friday, up about 40% and 74% on a year earlier, according to the motoring group AAA, while Brent crude stood at around $116 a barrel.
Energy analysts told CBS the move was unlikely to make much difference in the short term. The US already produces more petrol and diesel than it uses, prices are set on global markets disrupted by the Iran war and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and refineries are running near full capacity. Bringing extra units back into service would take months.
Source: CBS News US
