Gas Prices Stay High as Trump Defends Iran War

The U.S. average gasoline price reached $4.29 Sunday, up from $3.04 a year earlier, while Energy Secretary Chris Wright defended the Trump administration’s promise to lower prices during the Iran war’s eighth month. Wright told CNN the administration hadn’t broken its promise, though prices in several western states exceeded $5 a gallon.

Prices at the Pump

AAA put the average at $5.39 in Washington, $5.40 in Nevada, $5.63 in Hawaii and $6.18 in California. Some Los Angeles-area stations charged more than $7 a gallon. Those figures put the administration’s assurances beside the prices drivers face across the country.

CNN asked Wright about his earlier prediction that prices would fall “within weeks, not months” and whether Americans had been let down while prices stayed high. “No, we haven't,” Wright said. He then pointed to the Iranian government’s killing of 30,000 to 40,000 of its own citizens in January, before the conflict, and asked whether Bash was comfortable with a nuclear-armed Iranian regime in power.

Wright said he had predicted in March that the active attacks would be over in “four or five or six weeks,” and said they were. He added that gasoline prices had come down and “never got remotely close to $5 a gallon, over $5 a gallon.” Yet AAA reported Sunday that prices had exceeded $5 in several western states.

Asked directly whether he was comfortable with gas prices, Wright said, “No, of course I'm not comfortable but I'm happy they're coming down.” He said gasoline and diesel prices had fallen in recent weeks and would keep falling. “That's what President Trump works on every day.”

Promises and Revisions

Wright’s forecasts changed over the course of the year. In March, he predicted gas prices would drop below $3 by summer, while saying there were “no guarantees.” In April, he said prices might not fall below $3 until 2027. Trump criticized that prediction and called Wright “totally wrong.” By May, Wright said he was avoiding predictions about when gas prices would fall.

On Sunday, AAA’s figures put the gap between the national average and California’s average at $1.89. Diesel also remained costly: after diesel costs rose, AAA estimated the U.S. average at $6.53 earlier this month. The reported figures show what drivers pay at the pump as officials dispute when promised reductions will arrive and how reliable those promises are.

Diesel Deal and Its Limits

Earlier this month, Trump announced a deal for Russia to supply 300,000 tons of diesel “immediately” to the U.S. and global marketplace, with another 500,000 tons scheduled for November. Lawmakers from both parties criticized the deal after approving a sanctions package against Russia over its war with Ukraine.

Some experts questioned whether Russian supply would change U.S. prices. Isabelle Gilks, principal analyst for retail fuels at Wood Mackenzie, said the announced volumes were “a small fraction, less than 5 percent, of U.S. diesel demand over the next few months,” and should have “very limited impact on U.S. retail prices.” The deal specifies shipment totals, but Gilks said its effect on retail prices would be limited.