WASHINGTON: The price of diesel — the vital fuel used for road hauling, agriculture and construction — hit a new record Friday in the United States, as disruption from the US war with Iran squeezes voters. The cost is now USD5.85 a gallon, up from USD3.71 a year ago, the AAA motorists’ association said. Six months into the Middle East war and with weeks to go before November’s key US midterm elections, voters are increasingly feeling the pinch from persistent inflation. “It’s really discouraging for sure,” North Carolina-based farmer Derrick Austin told AFP. He estimates that higher diesel costs could add some USD15,000 of costs to his fall harvest of soybeans and corn. “That’s USD15,000 that could stay in my bank account,” he said, adding that farmers are growing frustrated with President Donald Trump’s administration. To him, however, it is unclear if economic issues alone will push voters away from Trump’s Republican Party. “I would say they will probably still vote for (the party), even though they’re discouraged with some of his policies,” Austin, 55, said. “While oil prices have largely hovered around the USD90 mark, prices for refined products such as gasoline and diesel — t
