Fuel row fires up presidential poll

Fuel-price fever gripped the American presidential campaign yesterday as Al Gore, the Democratic candidate, urged the White House to release some of the country's emergency stockpile of crude oil.

Fuel-price fever gripped the American presidential campaign yesterday as Al Gore, the Democratic candidate, urged the White House to release some of the country's emergency stockpile of crude oil.

He is striving to take the initiative on an issue that has roared to the top of the agenda. Addressing supporters outside a distribution company in Maryland, he said it was time to act to stop the rise in prices. "We ought to start with several releases of 5 million barrels each and, assuming that is successful, we should continue with these swaps in an effort to stabilise the price of oil at lower levels and help consumers."

The US has a 600-million barrel reserve. It is questionable whether the situation is grave enough to warrant dipping into it, as Mr Gore has suggested.

He knows that if the crisis deepens the administration will be accused by the Republicans of sleeping at the pump. On Wednesday, George Bush, Mr Gore's Republican opponent, said the administration should be "held accountable for a failed energy policy".

The clash came as a poll showed Mr Bush cutting Mr Gore's lead. The Reuters/Zoby sample had Mr Gore leading him by 45 to 41 per cent. In a 13 September poll Mr Gore led by seven percentage points.

Under Mr Gore's plan oil companies could bid for quantities from the reserve and be obliged to return the same amounts later, presumably when prices would be lower. No money would change hands.

A Bush spokeswoman said: "That reserve is intended for strategic and national-security purposes, not for election-year politics." Mr Bush suggested Washington should focus on diplomatic options. "We need to ... make it clear to our friends overseas that we don't want them holding our nation and our consumers hostage."

While Mr Gore's proposal alone helped to ease prices on the London crude market, there is no certainty how President Bill Clinton will respond. In a leaked memo Larry Summers, Treasury Secretary, told him that using the reserve would be a "major and substantial policy mistake".