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Volatility in the Strait of Hormuz along with President Trump’s failed policies are causing spiraling oil prices with no end in sight for the chaos that is hurting U.S. consumers. The rate of U.S. inflation – aka TrumpFlation – quickened last month as gas prices spiked in the wake of renewed fighting in the Middle East. Diesel prices in the U.S. posted another record on Friday, soaring to an average of ~ $6.23 a gallon. Trump at the Republican midterm convention semi-acknowledged the problem.
“President Donald Trump kept oil prices relatively in check during the war’s first months through multi-pronged measures. Those included reserve drawdowns, calming the market with claims the war would be short-lived, and providing U.S. Navy escorts to ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz while some oil reached market via pipeline to the Red Sea,” said Peter Harrell a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in a Daily Brief on the matter.
Yesterday Trump called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop attacks on Russian oil refineries and other facilities operated to produce and distribute diesel. Trump claimed that the attacks are causing a global shortage of diesel [Omitting he is the cause for soaring inflation everywhere. Diesel fuel, of course, powers the trucking industry which among other things delivers virtually all consumer goods – food, medicines, fuel, clothing – the list is as long as the Mis-administration’s failures AutoCrat.]
“But now, the president faces a tougher reality. The war seems likely to continue, stockpiles are depleted, and Iranian attacks on energy infrastructure are becoming “more successful.” To boot, the Houthis appear poised to control access to the Red Sea, Harrell said. Oil flows remain depressed as traffic through Hormuz is still far below pre-war levels, and the administration’s attempts to boost supplies elsewhere have failed to make up the shortfall,” said Harrell.
“Trump does not have good options to deal with this price spike other than bringing the war to a close and getting Middle East flows back to normal,” said Harrell. It’s not just Diesel Fue,l consider some data from AAA and The latest data from the Energy Information Administration:
Trumpoline National Average Fuel Prices
- September 13 National Average $4.3130.
- September 10 National Average: $4.277.
- The Week Before: $4.1436.
- One Year Ago: $3.193.
