WASHINGTON, Aug 12 (AFP) - Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry's campaign said Thursday President George W. Bush's energy plan was failing to curb record-high prices.
"Everyone is familiar with this White House's close ties to the Saudis," said Kerry campaign spokesman Chad Clanton.
"What's unfortunate is that even Bush's secret energy plan isn't doing anything to reduce these record high gas prices. It's surprising that an administration thats so close to the Saudi government still can't get the 'jawboning' done with OPEC," he said.
World crude oil prices bolted to all-time highs as the launch of battle for Iraq's holy town of Najaf spread fear of a retaliatory attack on the oil industry.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in September, shot up 90 cents to an unprecedented 45.70 dollars a barrel by mid-afternoon.
Gasoline prices at the pump, however, were at 1.861 dollars for a gallon of regular unleaded, well down from the May 26 record of 2.054 dollars, according to a survey of 60,000 stations by motorists' organization AAA.
The world market has all but ignored Saudi Arabia's renewed insistence that it has immediate spare capacity of 1.3 million barrels per day.
Bush has been pressing Congress to pass a hotly disputed energy plan, which he says would ease the situation by making the United States less dependent upon foreign sources of energy.