Global fuel prices rise after Hurricane Harvey

HOUSTON — Landscaping contractors can expect to see fuel prices jump as a result of Tropical Storm Harvey’s impact on the energy industry. The storm’s impact spread worldwide as flooded U.S. refiners and closed fuel pipelines threatened to squeeze national supply, which roiled global fuel markets and rerouted millions of barrels of fuel to the Americas, Reuters reported.

The storm has impacted most of the U.S. Gulf Coast, immersing Houston and surrounding areas in several feet of water and forcing the closure of about a quarter of U.S. refining capacity, Reuters said.

As a result, gasoline and fuel prices have surged. The jumps came after the Colonial Pipeline, the biggest U.S. fuel system, announced that it would shut its main lines to the Northeast on Aug. 31 amid outages at pumping points and lack of supply from refiners. Reuters offers more information on these increases online.