Energy Secretary Chris Wright declined to make a firm call on whether U.S. gasoline prices could climb further on Sunday, then said they were "more likely to go down than go up" as Americans faced record Labor Day fuel costs.
Wright Points To Futures For Relief
CNN’s Dana Bash noted Wright had said five months earlier that high gas prices had peaked and asked whether the Iran war, Russia-Ukraine conflict and shrinking U.S. reserves could push them higher.
"Look, I don’t want to have an opinion on that," Wright said Sunday on State of the Union, before pointing to gasoline futures. "What can you buy gasoline for two months in advance from where we are today? It’s down more than 30 cents a gallon from where it is today."
AAA put regular gasoline at about $4.15 a gallon Sunday, up from roughly $3.20 a year earlier and above the previous Labor Day record of $3.82 set in 2012. Diesel was near a record $5.88. The price surge has already fueled political criticism from the likes of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) of President Donald Trump’s Iran policy.
EPA Waiver Aims To Ease Pump Prices
Wright argued seasonal and regulatory changes should provide relief. "Gasoline production is about to go up and demand is about to go down," he said. "So, if I had to guess, they’re more likely to go down than go up."
The EPA last month approved an emergency waiver allowing higher-RVP E10 gasoline to be sold beginning Sept. 1, effectively ending summer-blend requirements early, saying the move could add hundreds of thousands of barrels per day to domestic supply. The policy was aimed specifically at easing pump prices.
The administration has also pressed refiners to expand capacity as the Iran war keeps fuel markets tight.
Hormuz Disruption Keeps Energy Risks Elevated
Wright said the administration was "doing everything we can to drive energy prices down," but the six-month Iran conflict remains a risk.
At the time of writing, Brent crude traded near $97 a barrel, approaching three-month highs, as renewed U.S.-Iran attacks around the Strait of Hormuz raised fears of prolonged disruption.
Meanwhile, WTI Crude futures were 0.52% higher at $91.97 per barrel. Brent tracker, United States Brent Oil Fund, LP (NYSE:BNO), was 0.38% higher, while United States Oil Fund, LP (NYSE:USO), which tracks WTI, was 0.1% higher at $142.10 in after-hours trading on Friday.
On CNN, Wright said oil transits through Hormuz were averaging above 9 million barrels per day and, including bypass pipelines, flows were "probably two-thirds or more of pre-conflict flows." He added that moving ships safely still "requires the U.S. military." Commercial traffic nevertheless remains constrained.
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