The U.S. president has tried to ease concerns that the military action he initiated will worsen the global energy crisis
President Donald Trump has stated that rising oil prices won’t deter the U.S. from conducting its war against Iran, following Brent crude’s jump above $100 a barrel on Sunday—its largest single-day increase since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Reacting to U.S. and Israeli air raids, Iran has shut down the Strait of Hormuz and attacked tankers trying to navigate the waterway—through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil is transported. Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait, all top oil-producing nations, have reduced their output after exhausting their storage capacity.
In a Sunday post on Truth Social, Trump minimized the impact of his war on global commerce.
“Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace. ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!” Trump wrote.
During his reelection bid, Trump pledged to voters that gas would be cheaper and there would be no expensive wars. Yet, data from the American Automobile Association (AAA) shows that the national average cost of regular gasoline has gone up by around 15% in the last week, reaching approximately $3.45 per gallon—with certain regions seeing hikes of almost 30%.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted on Friday that Washington is looking into extra steps to reduce oil prices, while Energy Secretary Chris Wright promised to get gasoline prices back under $3 a gallon “before too long.”
Last week, the Treasury officially permitted India to temporarily purchase oil from Russia, and Bessent mentioned that the U.S. might possibly “unsanction” more of Russia’s energy shipments.
Bruce Kasman, JPMorgan’s chief economist, told Reuters that in the “near-term scenario”, crude prices could surge to $120 a barrel before stabilizing “at a high $80 per barrel through mid-year” if the conflict continues. Kirill Dmitriev, Russia’s presidential investment envoy, stated on Monday that oil prices might exceed $200 a barrel in the event of a “prolonged conflict.”