By Liz Moyer
Investing.com -- Energy was the S&P 500's worst-performing sector on Wednesday as the Biden administration put pressure on company CEOs to expand their refinery capacity amid soaring gasoline prices.
The S&P energy sector was down about 2% in afternoon trading, and the Energy Select Sector SPDR® Fund (NYSE:XLE) was down 1.2%.
Shares of companies such as Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) were down 3.7%, while Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC) shares fell 3.7%.
The White House wants petroleum refining companies to ramp up production to increase the supply of products such as gasoline and diesel, which have soared to record highs in recent weeks. The national average price of gasoline is $5.014 a gallon, nearly $2 more a gallon than the same time last year, according to AAA. The national average price of diesel, used by freight haulers and farm and construction equipment operators as well as public transportation services, is $5.78 a gallon, more than $2.50 higher than last year.
But refineries are having a hard time keeping up with demand, already operating at more than 93% of their capacity, according to estimates by JPMorgan analysts.
Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) shares fell 2% on Wednesday, while shares of Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) fell 1.5% and Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) fell 1.4%.