U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered the Department of Justice to launch an investigation into major oil companies for "price gouging" after retail gasoline prices at U.S. pumps have declined slowly and inconsistently with the sharp global crude oil price drops following a temporary peace agreement between the U.S. and Iran.
President Donald Trump posted on the Truth Social platform late Tuesday night, instructing the U.S. Department of Justice to immediately investigate major domestic oil companies, accusing them of "exploiting" consumers by failing to reduce retail gasoline prices proportionally to the steep plunge in global crude oil prices.
"The big oil companies have not lowered pump prices to match the significantly cheaper crude oil prices they are paying. Crude oil prices are currently falling like a rock! Simply put, customers are being gouged," Trump wrote in his post, concluding emphatically, "Pump prices should be falling faster than what I am seeing now!"
However, neither the White House nor the U.S. Department of Justice have issued further comments outside regular business hours regarding the president's sudden directive.
Trump's dissatisfaction stems from the disparity in energy prices after the U.S. and Iran reached a temporary peace deal and reopened the Strait of Hormuz—a key crude oil shipping route accounting for about one-fifth of global supply. This has caused U.S. crude oil prices to drop by 23% from the May peak and by 40% from the March high.
But data from GasBuddy indicates that the average U.S. retail gasoline price on Wednesday morning (24 June) was $3.906 per gallon, or approximately $3.93 according to the American Automobile Association. This represents only a 14% decrease from the May peak and remains above the $2.764 average price in January before the war with Iran erupted in February.
Oil prices remain an extremely sensitive political issue in the U.S. because personal vehicles running on gasoline are the primary mode of transportation for most Americans. Trump has faced strong public criticism for decisions to engage in Middle East conflicts, which have driven energy prices and inflation sharply higher, with many viewing the government as wasting billions of taxpayers' dollars on war.
Although the U.S. leader has repeatedly predicted that oil prices would "fall like a rock" once the war ends, many economists believe it could take several months for oil prices to return to pre-war levels.
Trump's latest move is seen as an attempt to ease public discontent while he and the Republican Party face a tough battle to retain their slim majority in Congress ahead of the November midterm elections.