Overview
- Energy Secretary Chris Wright said U.S. gasoline prices likely topped out and should begin to ease.
- He cautioned that prices under $3 a gallon may not return until next year and called that level rare in real terms.
- Crude prices dropped after reports that the Strait of Hormuz reopened, with West Texas Intermediate near $83 a barrel from roughly $117 during the closure.
- The outlook remains shaky after reports that Iran fired on two tankers transiting the strait, putting a full return of flows at risk.
- Drivers still face high costs at about $4.04 nationally and roughly $3.70 in Louisiana, and experts say pump prices will fall only gradually because tankers take 40 to 60 days to reach refineries and fuel then must move through distribution networks.