US petrol to hit record price on midterm eve

US petrol prices are projected to hit a record high on 2 November, the day before Americans vote in the midterms, surpassing the previous mark set under Joe Biden. The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline stands at $4.29, up from $2.98 before the war, according to federal data analysed by the Financial Times.

Fuel costs have risen sharply since February, when Donald Trump joined Israel in attacking Iran. Iran answered by effectively shutting the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil and gas passed each day before the conflict, and the strait has remained largely closed through a war that has since settled into stalemate. Negotiations over transit are deadlocked. The climb at the pump has been followed by a collapse in Trump's approval ratings in the weeks before the vote.

Trump campaigned on cheap fuel, insisting prices would come down to $2 a gallon. At a rally in Iowa on Sunday he called the rise in energy costs 'a small price to pay' for security in the Middle East. Diesel passed $6 a gallon in September, a record, and now averages $6.35, up from $3.76 in February.

The remedies have come in several forms. Last month Trump announced the lifting of sanctions on Russia so the country can export diesel and raise global supply, and he insists prices will follow: 'Between our total control of the Strait of Hormuz, and this great announcement on Russian Energy, Diesel Prices for Americans and, indeed, the World, will be coming down, in record numbers, and fast!' On 19 October he announced a harvest fuel relief programme he said would provide $8bn for farmers. At a rally at Salina Regional Airport in Kansas on Sunday he promised more — 'When Republicans win, we will pass even more funding for our farmers' — and asked the crowd to 'pretend please that I'm on the ballot.'

The record is projected for 2 November. The vote follows the next day.