President Donald Trump once again appeared to express his displeasure with gas prices at the pump, arguing that they were not dropping fast enough, even as global crude prices continue to decline amid market optimism about the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and progress in U.S.-Iran negotiations.
The president demanded that gas retailers must drop their prices to match declines in crude oil futures.
In a post on Monday evening, the president demanded that gasoline retailers lower their prices “IMMEDIATELY!”, less than a week after threatening a federal price-gouging probe against them.
The president argued that prices at the pump are still “too high” despite a drop in crude oil futures to pre-Iran War levels.
Without citing any particular evidence, Trump appeared to suggest the elevated gas prices amounted to price gouging, which he said is “totally illegal,” and warned retailers of “big problems.”
In his post, the president said retailers should target an average gas price of around $2.50 per gallon, which would be lower than the roughly $2.93 per gallon price before the war began.
According to AAA’s tracker, the national average gas price in the US on Tuesday was $3.85 per gallon, slightly above Tuesday’s average but down from $4.02 last week. Two weeks ago, the average fell below $4 per gallon for the first time since the end of March. The war had caused pump prices to peak above $4.50 per gallon last month, driving up inflation. The prices have continued to decline since both sides signed an interim peace deal that agreed to reopen the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, which is used to transport around 20% of the world’s oil. However, the peace deal remains tenous with both sides exchanging fire in the last few days—disrupting shipping.
Trump’s post also called out the government of California, saying it should “stop charging such heavy Taxes on their Gasoline.” The president claimed: “Soon the Tax will be higher than the Product itself, and the United States will not stand for it, nor will the People of California.” According to California’s Energy Commission, the state’s various taxes and environmental levies account for roughly 20% of the total price for a gallon of gas. According to AAA’s tracker, California’s average gas price on Tuesday stood at $5.43 per gallon—the third highest among all states, putting it behind only Alaska and Hawaii.
In a post on X, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office shared a screenshot of Trump’s post and wrote: “REMINDER of what Trump said on March 12: ‘When oil prices go up, we make a lot of money.'” In a follow-up post, Newsom’s press office wrote: “The GOP-enabled Iran war has now forced a growing $63 billion in extra fuel costs on Americans nationwide — that $243.14 per California household so far this year.”
The global crude oil benchmark Brent Crude Futures remained just below $73 per barrel early on Tuesday, slightly lower than Monday’s price. The U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate stood at $70.64 per barrel, which is higher than the $68 price touted by the president in his post.
Oil market researcher, Rory Johnston wrote on X: “Unfortunately for Trump, while obviously connected, crude oi and gasoline are actually different commodities. Crude market currently loose (yep, temporarily, surprising but true), but gasoline near its tightest ever relative to crude.”
Last week, Chevron Chief Financial Officer Eimear Bonner told CNBC: “We’re all concerned about prices. So, there is a lot of empathy, whether it’s in the U.S. or here in the U.K. or in Europe for consumers…It’s going to take time though. There is a lag between, you know, oil prices and reductions in oil prices and when that shows up at the pump, but we expect that prices will come down as things continue to normalize.”
