US Energy Secretary: Gasoline Prices Have Likely Already Skyrocketed

(MENAFN) US Energy Secretary Chris Wright signaled potential relief for American drivers on Tuesday, suggesting that the sharp surge in gasoline prices triggered by the war with Iran may have already crested.

"It looks like they peaked about a week or so ago," Wright said in response to a question during testimony before a Senate panel.

Pump prices have climbed by more than $1 per gallon since hostilities broke out on February 28, hitting a high of $4.17 per gallon on April 8, according to the American Automobile Association. By Monday, the national average had eased marginally to $4.02 per gallon for regular gasoline — still well above the sub-$3 per gallon levels that prevailed before the conflict erupted.

Wright offered further context by noting that current prices, while elevated, remain below the all-time record average of $5.02 per gallon logged in June 2022 in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The remarks arrive just days after Wright told media on Sunday that US gasoline prices could hold at $3 per gallon or above well into next year. When senators pressed him Tuesday on whether that forecast still stood, he walked back the certainty of his earlier statement.

"I don't know the future of energy prices, often I will speculate or look at those things," Wright said.

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