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Pump prices rise again
U.S. drivers saw gasoline prices climb again after weeks of steady declines as renewed fighting between the U.S. and Iran lifted crude oil prices, with average pump prices rising 6 cents this week to $3.88 a gallon on Friday, AAA data showed.
“average pump prices rose 6 cents this week to $3.88 a gallon on Friday, AAA data showed”
The Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday that U.S. gasoline inventories fell by 1.9 million barrels last week to 212.1 million barrels, leaving stockpiles nearly 10 million barrels below the five-year average.
Energy market strategy director Alex Hodes of StoneX said, "Gasoline prices have rallied alongside the massive move higher in crude oil after several tankers \u2060in the Strait of Hormuz were attacked," linking the pump move to the Strait of Hormuz disruptions.
The same Reuters report said oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz carried about 20% of daily global oil and gas supplies before the start of the war on February 28, and it said fears persisted that even minor disruptions could ripple through global fuel markets.
In the U.S., refinery outages further strained supplies, including disruptions at Marathon Petroleum’s 146,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Detroit, Michigan, and Delta’s 190,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Trainer, Pennsylvania.
Trump presses refiners
President Donald Trump convened refiners and distributors at the White House to discuss ways to expand U.S. refining capacity as the administration focuses on cutting costs, with Trump writing on Truth Social, "We are unleashing American Energy Dominance!"
A White House official said Trump met with nearly a dozen small, mid-sized and large refiners and distributors, and the discussion included "concrete ways to expand capacity, including regulation changes, faster permitting and additional investments," according to the official.
GasBuddy head Patrick De Haan said, "U.S. refineries are operating at some of their highest rates that we've ever seen," adding that there was "very little spare capacity" remaining in the U.S.
The Hill reported that Trump is expected to meet with fuel refiners and distributors as gasoline prices remain stubbornly high and are expected to be a major midterm issue, and it said the meeting would include Doug Burgum, Chris Wright, and Jarrod Agen.
The Hill also said Reuters reported that ExxonMobil, the U.S.’s third-largest refiner, was not invited to the meeting, while the White House did not share a list of attendees.
Venezuela deal and constraints
As Trump sought near-term steps to lower prices, the administration also announced an energy deal between the U.S. and Venezuela, with the U.S. government taking an equity stake in the corporate parent of North American Blue Energy Partners and receiving concessions for oil fields worth around 65 billion barrels.
“"It's very simple: Do we want Russia and Chinese companies controlling the the wealth of a country in our hemisphere”
A U.S. official said, "It's very simple: Do we want Russia and Chinese companies controlling the the wealth of a country in our hemisphere, or do we want the United States in combination and partnership with the Venezuelan people," framing the deal as a way to secure influence over resources.
The Hill said prices have been elevated since earlier this year as the U.S.-Iran conflict scrambled global supplies, and it reported that on Monday the average U.S. gasoline price was about $4.08 per gallon, according to AAA.
ConsumerAffairs said the White House accused refiners of benefiting from unusually strong profits while drivers pay more than $4 a gallon, and it said refiners are already operating close to full capacity, limiting how quickly presidential pressure can produce relief at the pump.
The same ConsumerAffairs report said Marathon Petroleum, Phillips 66, and Valero reportedly earned a combined $12.6 billion during the second quarter as refining margins increased, while it warned that building or substantially expanding a refinery can take years and cost billions of dollars.