US President Donald Trump has entered into an open war with the country's oil sector, Reuters reported.
The head of state ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) to launch a large-scale investigation into artificially inflating fuel prices and threatened retailers with “serious problems“ if they do not act immediately.
The White House's anger was provoked by a paradox in the market. After the interim agreement between the US and Iran to de-escalate the Middle East, the price of crude oil (WTI) collapsed by 27% to levels of around $70 per barrel. At the same time, however, prices at American gas stations saw a symbolic drop of only 4%.
„Retailers must quickly do what they know is right — DOWN PRICES FOR OUR GREAT AMERICAN PEOPLE“, Trump wrote on the social network Truth Social. He added that the administration's goal is to quickly lower the price to $2.50 per gallon.
Analysts noted that with this sharp tone, Trump surprisingly echoes the rhetoric of his predecessor Joe Biden against "Big Oil". The move has a strong political charge, as the White House is under serious pressure due to high inflation before the upcoming midterm elections for Congress in November.
The oil sector countered that prices at gas stations cannot fall at the speed of exchange-traded oil due to the already accumulated expensive inventories and high refining costs.