Henry Paulson, the US Treasury Secretary, said yesterday that surging oil prices had placed the US economy under significant strain.

Although he sought to reassure consumers that the worst of the economic pain inflicted on consumers would be over by Christmas, the impact of high energy prices continued to reverberate through corporate America.

As he was speaking, Dow Chemical, one of America’s largest chemical companies, increased prices for the second time in two months to reflect the rising cost of hydrocarbons.

Mr Paulson said: “I think it’s going to take some time to get out of this, but don’t forget that the foundation of the United States economy is very solid. ... Read full article