Washington, April 9:

US president George W Bush passed a tricky domestic test by proving he knew the price of a gallon of petrol, one of the main concerns of US voters.

“About 2.60-plus,” Bush replied, when asked if he knew the price of a gallon of petrol. “Nationwide average.” The average price a gallon (3.7 liters) was $2.69 Thursday, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the country’s main motoring group. A wrong answer would have gone down badly with voters, as recent polls have shown the cost of filling up their vehicles is one of Americans’ main preoccupations.

Bush’s father, former president George Bush, once famously flunked a similar test when he was heavily criticised for not knowing the price of milk.

The current president Bush, however, was at pains to remind his countrymen that the cost of fuel varies across the country. “The price of petrol obviously varies from region to region, for a variety of reasons. Some has to do with the amount of taxation at the pump. Some of it has to do with the boutique fuels that have been mandated on a state-by-state basis,” he said.

“And the price of crude is on the rise because people get spooked, for example when it looks like there may be a crisis with a crude producing nation, like Iran.”

“But the whole point about rising crude prices and rising petrol prices is that this country ought to work hard to get off our addiction to oil,” Bush added.