Key facts
- President Donald Trump ordered the Justice Department to investigate oil companies for alleged price gouging.
- The Justice Department has called on states to join the investigation into oil companies.
- Trump stated that oil companies are not lowering pump prices commensurate with the lower prices they are paying for crude oil.
- Average gas prices have fallen to just under $4 per gallon, with crude oil hovering just under $69 per barrel.
- Concerns over conflict in the Strait of Hormuz had previously driven up oil prices.
President Donald Trump has directed the Justice Department to investigate major oil companies, alleging they are price gouging consumers by not lowering gasoline prices in line with falling crude oil costs. Trump stated on social media that the "big Oil Companies are not dropping their price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices they are paying for Oil," adding that "Those prices are dropping like a rock!"
The Justice Department has since issued a letter calling on states to join the investigation. Gas prices have eased in recent weeks, with the average price on Friday morning just under $4 per gallon, according to AAA, while crude oil hovered just under $69 per barrel. These prices have fallen from earlier highs driven by concerns that U.S.-Israel strikes against Iran could disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway that normally carries about 20 percent of the world’s oil. The easing of prices has coincided with ongoing peace talks between the U.S. and Iran.
Leaders on Capitol Hill have also called for the administration to scrutinize the oil industry over pump prices. Trump previously ordered the Justice Department to investigate former Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell over interest rate policy.