- Chris Wright believes gas prices have peaked in the US.
- Rising gas prices create political headwinds for Trump.
- US officials heading to Pakistan for talks with Iran: Trump.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday that he believes gasoline prices have peaked, but predicted they could remain above $3 a gallon into next year.
Gas prices have risen during the U.S. and Israel's war on Iran and Iranian attacks on U.S. bases in the Gulf region, creating political obstacles for President Donald Trump ahead of November's midterm elections, where his Republican Party will defend slim majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives.
Gasoline below $3 a gallon “could come later this year, but that might not happen until next year. But prices have probably peaked and will start to come down,” he said. cnn “State of the Union” program. “Certainly, with the resolution of this conflict, prices will go down.”
Trump administration officials have offered different views on how gas prices may change. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent predicted last week that gas prices would fall to the $3 per gallon range this summer, while Wright on Sunday laid out a longer likely timeline to reach that price.
Trump himself has said that gas prices may remain high until November.
All of them have said that gasoline will eventually be cheaper once the war with Iran ends. “Less than $3 a gallon is a tremendous number in inflation-adjusted terms,” Wright said. “We will definitely go back there.”
The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline on Sunday was $4.05, according to an AAA estimate, up from $3.16 a year ago.
The United States and Iran agreed to a 10-day ceasefire on April 8, but Trump on Sunday accused Iran of violating it with attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz this weekend. US officials will arrive in Pakistan to continue negotiations on Monday, Trump wrote in a social media post.
“We are offering a very fair and reasonable agreement, and I hope you accept it because if you don't, the United States will destroy all the power plants and all the bridges in Iran,” he posted, resuming a threat he had made before the ceasefire.
