America is the world's leading oil producer. 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?
U.S. gas prices spiked to an average $4.18 a gallon on April 28: the highest level not just since the start of the Iran war, but since the early days of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. Gas prices are rising at a moment when peace talks between Iran and the United States seem to have stalled.
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.”
