In a speech to the nation on April 1, President Donald Trump spoke of the Iran war, and the contest for control of the Strait of Hormuz, as if their outcome had little bearing on the market for oil and gasoline in the United States.
“The United States imports almost no oil through the Hormuz Strait and won’t be taking any in the future,” Trump said. “We don’t need it. We haven’t needed it and we don’t need it.”
It’s true that the United States is less reliant on foreign oil than at times in the past. And of the oil we do import, only 8% comes from the Middle East.
Why, then, have gasoline prices gone through the roof at America’s pumps?
On April 8, a gallon of regular gasoline cost $4.16 in the United States, on average, up from $3.45 a month ago and less than $3 at the year’s start, according to AAA.
