High fuel prices to persist says US energy chief

By Edward Alden and Christopher Swann in Washington
Published: October 5 2005 20:16 | Last updated: October 6 2005 00:27

Higher energy costs exacerbated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita could persist for several years, Samuel Bodman, US energy secretary, warned on Wednesday.

Mr Bodman told a meeting of reporters: “Both oil and natural gas availability have been severely impaired and the effects of this will reverberate through the economy of this country for some time. The main thing that US citizens can do is conserve. We simply have to do it.”

He predicted that conservation could make “a major dent” in demand.

US petrol imports last week hit a record 1.4m barrels a day, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.