President Donald Trump on Tuesday touted a recent 60-cent fall in gas prices as traffic continues to flow in the Strait of Hormuz on the heels of the Iran war.
While delivering remarks at a Mack Trucks plant in Macungie, Pennsylvania, the president highlighted the drop in gasoline prices after a surge in recent months due to the closure of the Strait, through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil travels.
“The average price of gasoline nationwide is down 60 cents a gallon, just from a short while ago… We had to make this detour, we had to go to Iran. You can’t let them blow up the Middle East, and then us, if that’s possible,” Trump said.
Indeed, gas prices have dropped significantly in recent weeks. On May 23, the national price for a gallon of regular gas registered at $4.53, according to AAA. On Tuesday, the average had dwindled exactly 60 cents, to $3.93.
Gas prices are falling with Brent crude oil prices. As of Tuesday evening, Brent crude prices were at 77.16 per barrel, down from 103.54 on May 22, per CNBC. Prices are approaching levels before the United States launched Operation Epic Fury on February 28. On February 27, Brent crude prices closed at 72.48.
Gas prices, even a month ago, were still substantially below the all-time average price per gallon of $5.02 set under former President Joe Biden on June 14, 2022.
The president noted Tuesday at the tarmac of Reading Regional Airport that 19 million barrels of oil traveled through the Hormuz Strait on Monday.
“Our stock market is through the roof, and oil prices are tumbling. We actually hit, for a moment today, in fact, I think it’s going to break it, $70 a barrel, that’s lower than we were when we started, and it’s been amazing,” he said. “And the big thing is Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.”