President Donald Trump said on June 24 that he had instructed the Justice Department to open an investigation into oil companies over high gasoline prices.
“Those prices are dropping like a rock! In other words, customers are being ‘gouged,’” he said. “Gasoline prices better start going down a lot faster than what I’m seeing!”
Brent crude futures fell below $77 per barrel on June 24, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures dropped to $72.29, amid the resumption of shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
The national average price for regular gasoline stood at $3.93 per gallon on June 23, according to AAA, down from $4.04 the previous week. The gas price was $4.53 per gallon a month ago.
AAA said it observed that gas prices remain above the levels before the conflict with Iran erupted in February. The national average price for regular gas was $2.98 on Feb. 28, the day when the United States and Israel launched military operations against Iran, triggering the war.
“Getting prices back down to prewar levels will take longer because of the time it takes to resume shipping and production,” Marie Dodds, public affairs director for AAA Oregon/Idaho, said in a statement.
“Flows of oil and natural gas through the straits have already returned to normal, and they will continue that way whatever happens with the negotiations with the Iranians,” he said.
Arsenio Dominguez, secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization, said on June 23 that more than 11,000 seafarers stranded in the region because of war would be evacuated under a coordinated effort with Iran, Oman, other coastal states in the region, the United States, and the maritime industry following the U.S.–Iran preliminary deal.
“We have secured the necessary safety guarantees and have thoroughly verified the conditions for safe navigation to support these operations,” Dominguez said in a statement.
Iran had previously blocked traffic in the Strait of Hormuz—a critical waterway through which a significant share of global oil and gas shipments passes—in response to the U.S. and Israeli attacks on its nuclear and military sites.