Overview
- Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CBS News the administration expects gasoline and diesel prices to fall in the coming weeks because demand has eased and a recent regulatory change lets refiners make more fuel with existing equipment.
- The White House is leaning on maximum domestic and regional production rather than an export ban, citing moves to boost output in Alaska, the Gulf, Canada and through a U.S. investment arrangement with Venezuela.
- Wright described the Venezuela deal as costing U.S. taxpayers "zero cost" and said it will deliver discounted oil and ownership stakes, but he offered no timeline for Venezuelan elections or firm guarantees about political conditions.
- Officials point to global refining shortfalls, especially damage to Russian refineries, as the main driver of high diesel and gasoline prices, with diesel hitting a record high of $5.89 a gallon this week.
- Higher diesel costs raise freight and inflation pressures, so the administration is also using military and economic tools to limit adversary exports and ease product flows through routes such as the Strait of Hormuz.