Powerful Ida, which made landfall in southern U.S. state Lousiana as a Category 4 hurricane on Sunday, has forced much of U.S. gasoline refining and oil production along the Gulf coast to a halt.
Gas prices in the country could increase in the coming days as a result, energy experts say, noting the possible hike may exacerbate inflation that's already hurting American consumers.
The average price of a gallon of regular gas in the country stood at 3.15 U.S. dollars 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 U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, more than 95 percent of U.S. oil production at offshore platforms and rigs in the Gulf of Mexico was shut down ahead of Hurricane Ida's landfall.
In the aftermath of the hurricane strike, 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 percent of U.S. overall refining capacity at its 15 refineries, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
