Washington, Aug 31 Ida,, which made landfall in the US state Lousiana as a Category 4 hurricane over the weekend, has halted much of the country's gasoline refining and oil production along the Gulf Coast.
Gas prices in the country could increase in the coming days as a result, energy experts said, noting the possible hike may exacerbate inflation that's already hurting American consumers, reports Xinhua news agency.
The average price of a gallon of regular fuel in the country stood at $3.15 on Monday, down 1 cent from a week earlier but up 92 cents from a year earlier, according to the American Automobile Association.
However, wholesale gasoline futures were about 5 cents higher in early trading on Monday.
"We have seen three weeks of falling prices but that will probably end this week," Patrick De Haan, chief of petroleum analysis for fuel-savings app GasBuddy, told local media.
According to the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, more than 95 per cent of oil production at offshore platforms and rigs in the Gulf of Mexico was shut down ahead of Hurricane Ida's landfall on Sunday.
In the aftermath of the landfall, flooding or prolonged power outages could still keep the refineries and pipelines offline for days, local experts said.
Louisiana is home to three of the seven largest refineries in the country, making up 17.5 per cent of US overall refining capacity at its 15 refineries, according to the Energy Information Administration.
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