Donald Trump Jr. celebrated a sharp drop in oil prices on Wednesday, crediting his father, President Donald Trump’s diplomatic push toward an initial agreement to end the war between the United States and Iran and predicting relief for American drivers.
Trump Jr. Credits Father For Oil Drop
"Oil futures are now under $70 because of @realDonaldTrump’s peace deal to end the war in Iran. Lower gas prices coming for Americans!" Trump Jr. wrote on X.
The post followed an announced breakthrough aimed at ending the 2026 U.S.-Iran conflict. Recent diplomatic progress included agreements to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route for commercial traffic and energy exports.
Crude prices fell as traders removed some of the geopolitical risk premium that had built into oil during the conflict. Benchmark prices first fell below $81 a barrel and later below $70, reversing earlier spikes that had pushed crude well above $100 at the height of the crisis.
Trump Pressures Oil Companies On Pump Prices
The lower prices also prompted Trump to pressure energy companies over pump prices. In a Wednesday Truth Social post, Trump said "Oil Companies" were not lowering retail prices in line with the "sharply lower prices they are paying for Oil."
Trump said crude costs were "dropping like a rock!" and argued that motorists were still paying artificially high prices. "In other words, customers are being gouged," he wrote, adding that he had "instructed the DOJ to immediately start looking into this." He warned, "Gasoline prices better start going down a lot faster than what I’m seeing!"
Oil ETFs Slide As Crude Retreats
At the time of writing, AAA data put the national average for regular gasoline at about $3.93 per gallon. That is down from roughly $4.52 a month ago but still above last year’s $3.22 average.
Gas prices usually lag crude futures by several weeks because stations sell fuel refined from oil bought earlier at higher prices. Still, GasBuddy data showed national retail averages had already fallen for several straight weeks.
At the time of publication, WTI crude futures were lower by about 1.35% near $69.39 a barrel. Brent crude futures fell about 1.67% to $72.52.
The United States Brent Oil Fund LP (NYSE:BNO), an exchange-traded fund tracking Brent futures, has fallen 23.28% over the past month but remains up 44.21% year to date. BNO closed down 4.23% Wednesday.
The United States Oil Fund LP (NYSE:USO), which tracks WTI futures, was down 24.57% for the month and up 52.41% year to date. It fell 0.87% in after-hours trading on Wednesday.
Benzinga Edge Rankings suggests that the United States Oil Fund LP offers a negative price trend in the Short and Medium term.
Photo Courtesy: lev radin on Shutterstock.com
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