Energy Secretary Chris Wright said it could take months to lower gas prices and acknowledged that prices may go up further before falling.
The secretary’s comments came just one day after President Donald Trump said gas prices could go a “little bit higher” before the midterm elections, a pivot from the administration’s previous messaging that prices at the pump would fall in just a matter of weeks.
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Wright himself previously predicted that gasoline could fall below $3 per gallon by the summer.
The secretary appeared to walk back that assessment Monday at the Semafor World Economy Summit, saying, “Well, by the summer is an aggressive time frame.”
As of Monday, the nationwide average price of gasoline was $4.125 per gallon, according to AAA, up from $2.98 before the war began in late February.
Wright defended the high prices, saying that the Trump administration was always aware that a disruption of energy flows brought on by the war in Iran would push up energy prices.
“He knew it was short-term disruptive, but he felt committed to end this threat than Iran is about to cross this threshold,” Wright said. “So I’m proud of that … but it does mean higher energy prices in the short term.”
When pressed on how long it could take for prices to come down, Wright said prices will not fall until there is meaningful ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. He did not offer any specific timeline for that, only saying it would happen sometime “in the next few weeks.”
Wright did not respond further to members of the press when further asked to clarify how long a “short-term” disruption could be.
TRUMP SAYS GAS PRICES COULD BE HIGHER BY NOVEMBER AFTER IRAN BLOCKADE
In the meantime, Wright said it was a “very real possibility” that prices rise more before they fall.
“But once the conflict ends and energy starts flowing again, you’ll start to see downward pressure,” he said. “But it will take some time, depending upon the longer the conflict goes, the longer the rebound is.”
