By Oluwakemi Kindness
U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered an investigation into major oil companies, accusing them of keeping gasoline prices artificially high despite a decline in crude oil costs.
In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, Trump alleged that oil companies were failing to pass lower crude prices on to consumers.
“The big Oil Companies are not dropping their price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices they are paying for oil,” Trump wrote. “Those prices are dropping like a rock. In other words, customers are being gouged.”
The move comes as Trump faces growing criticism over the economic fallout from the recent Middle East conflict, which disrupted global energy markets and pushed fuel prices higher across the United States.
Oil prices surged after Iran temporarily blocked traffic through the Strait of Hormuz following U.S.-Israeli strikes earlier this year. Although Tehran and Washington have since reached an initial agreement to restore oil tanker movements through the strategic waterway, key disputes, including Iran’s nuclear programme, remain unresolved.
Trump has repeatedly argued that fuel prices would fall sharply once the conflict eased. However, many economists say oil markets could take months to fully stabilize and return to pre-war levels.
Gasoline prices have declined since the Hormuz agreement was announced but remain above where they stood before the conflict. According to the AAA motor club, the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline stood at $3.93 on Tuesday.
The issue has become increasingly sensitive ahead of November’s congressional elections, with critics accusing the administration of spending billions of taxpayer dollars on the Middle East conflict while Americans continue to grapple with higher fuel costs and inflation
