Gasoline Nears $3 in U.S., Hurting Bush, GM, Helping Refiners

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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=ata.4JwnqLP4&refer=top_world_news

Gasoline Nears $3 in U.S., Hurting Bush, GM, Helping Refiners

April 10 (Bloomberg) -- Gasoline is climbing toward the U.S. record of $3.07 a gallon, and the damage is piling up for President George W. Bush and General Motors Corp.

Higher fuel prices may deepen losses for makers of gas- guzzling sport utility vehicles and trim sales for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer. Oil refiners such as Tesoro Corp. and Japanese makers of higher-mileage hybrid cars are likely to benefit.

Hurricane Katrina in August pushed the U.S. average gasoline price above $3 for the first time. Since then, the percentage of Americans who don't like Bush's energy policies has jumped to 58 percent, according to a Newsweek poll last month. Now prices at the pump are $2.59 a gallon on average nationwide and rising because of crude oil costs, lack of refineries and changes in fuel rules, analysts and industry executives said.

``There's a good chance there's going to be problems'' as refiners try to meet peak U.S. demand this summer, said Tesoro Chief Executive Officer Bruce Smith, who runs six plants from Alaska to North Dakota. A requirement to reduce the sulfur in fuel and a switch to ethanol as the favored gasoline additive ``could be the equivalent of another hurricane,'' he said.