As tankers start sailing again through the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices have fallen nearly to their level before fighting blocked off the Persian Gulf four months ago. As usual for a so-called supply shock, prices at the pump aren’t falling as quickly, as gasoline retailers take the opportunity to recoup some of the profits they lost as prices rose.
President Donald Trump isn’t having it.
“The retailers must quickly react to this statement, and do what they know is right — DROP YOUR PRICE FOR OUR GREAT AMERICAN PEOPLE!” he wrote in a social media post last week. He said he wouldn’t stand for price gouging, “which is totally illegal.”
It’s not the first time a president has warned against price gouging when the politically sensitive price of gas soured public sentiment. President Joe Biden sounded similar in 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent energy prices soaring.
So, do they have a point?