President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he had instructed the Department of Justice to immediately probe oil companies for not lowering gas prices at the pump in line with falling costs, accusing them of ‘gouging’ consumers. Trump did not name any companies in his late-night message on TruthSocial, which was posted shortly after midnight.
Background
The big oil companies are not dropping their price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices they are paying for oil, Trump wrote. Those prices are dropping like a rock! In other words, customers are being ‘gouged.’ I have instructed the DOJ to immediately start looking into this. Gasoline prices better start going down a lot faster than what I’m seeing!
Trump’s war in Iran and Tehran’s subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz rocked global markets and sent energy prices soaring, resulting in higher gas prices for Americans at the pump. That has translated into concerns that consumers may punish Republicans in November’s midterm elections.
But prices have eased in recent weeks amid peace talks, and more relief followed the news of an interim deal that would include reopening the crucial waterway, through which one-fifth of global oil supply is moved.
Gas prices in the U.S. fell last week below $4 per gallon for the first time since March, bringing a measure of relief to consumers. Oil prices fell more than 1% on Wednesday, extending this week’s losses to trade near four-month lows on signs that more stranded oil tankers were set to move out of the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. crude closed at $73.21 Tuesday, just $6.19 higher than the day before the U.S. struck Iran. That’s a drop of more than 36% since their peak in April. The national average gas price meanwhile hovered at $3.93, according to the AAA tracker, compared to the $4.52 average a month ago. That’s a drop of around 13%.
Increased gas prices have resulted in higher monthly expenses for Americans — anywhere from less than $20 to more than $300 for a driver who fills up twice a month, according to an NBC News analysis of AAA’s average national gas price data.
Original reporting: NBC Connecticut (Hartford) — read the source article.
