WASHINGTON, D.C. — Gas prices are climbing again as uncertainty over the Iran conflict continues to rattle global oil markets.
The president says the U.S. has full control of the Strait of Hormuz — but stalled peace talks are keeping pressure on prices.
There’s persisting pressure at the pump for millions of Americans. The national average for regular gas jumped three cents Wednesday — now at $4.04 a gallon, according to AAA. Oil prices remain volatile as hopes for a swift end to the Iran war fade.
However, there’s some positive news regarding inflation. New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows annual inflation cooling for the second consecutive month, reaching 3.4% in July. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose slightly from June, meeting expectations and offering some relief to consumers.
“All of the price data have been decelerating,” said Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council during a recent interview with CNN.
Still, the war with Iran and disruption in the Strait of Hormuz continues to deal wildcards in a game of economic stability.
“Now prices are still higher than we would like, but we have taken a lot of steps so that when the Gulf situation is resolved, then we can expect prices to go way, way down because of all these new measures that we have taken,” Hassett said.
“Iran is going fine, going just absolutely fine,” said President Trump on Tuesday.
After recent optimism helped push crude prices lower, tougher rhetoric from Iran sent them back up. The rhetoric from Tehran comes as President Trump claims the US is in total control of the Strait.
“We totally control the Strait of Hormuz. We have control over it. Nobody else, only us. Our Navy is unbelievable and things are going great for our country,” said Trump.
Before the war, roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil moved through the strategic waterway. Since then, maritime traffic has been severely disrupted — squeezing global energy supplies.
“We have taken a whole number of steps including increasing production in the US, waiving the Jones Act, so that right now 100 million barrels of Gulf of America produced oil are now shipped to the east and west coast because we waived the Jones Act,” Hassett said.
Iran, meanwhile, accuses the U.S. of violating their June agreement — and is demanding new concessions before reopening the waterway. But even if the Strait reopens, a return to normal could take time — meaning relief at the pump may not come immediately.
