High oil prices, which have driven up living costs, prompted cash-strapped US citizens to pull money from their mutual funds between May and July, the first three-month withdrawal of money since 1996, according to TrimTabs, the US investment tracker.

As oil prices hit record highs, US citizens withdrew $2.4 billion from savings and investment vehicles in the three months from May through July. The outflow compares with an inflow of $98.8 billion in the same period a year ago.

The draw-down on savings suggests US consumers are already near the limit of what they can afford to spend on fuel.

“America is going broke because of record high oil prices, which soared over $100 for the first time ever in early March,” TrimTabs’ chief executive Charles Biderman said.

Mr Biderman said that with oil prices at $125 per barrel, US consumers spend 14 per cent of their take-home pay on oil, compared with 9 per cent a year ago when oil prices were $80 per barrel.