Can the president bring down gas prices? Here are 5 options available to Trump.
CBSN
President Trump is weighing several options to lower oil prices, which have surged about 20% since the U.S. war with Iran began on Feb. 28, driving up fuel costs higher across the country. But his options for reining in energy costs are limited, especially if the conflict continues for months, experts said. Edited by Alain Sherter In:
President Trump is weighing several options to lower oil prices, which have surged about 20% since the U.S. war with Iran began on Feb. 28, driving up fuel costs higher across the country. But his options for reining in energy costs are limited, especially if the conflict continues for months, experts said.
"There's not a whole lot of levers that are going to be influential at this point," Patrick De Haan, petroleum analyst at GasBuddy, told CBS News. "The biggest thing he could do is work towards is getting and boosting confidence in the Strait of Hormuz."
Indeed, energy and security experts agree that the most effective means of reducing oil and gas prices would be to end the Iran conflict or, less ambitiously, militarily secure the Strait of Hormuz — the vital waterway that handles 20% of the world's oil supply. Yet securing the channel could become harder if Iran deploys naval mines in the strait.
In the short-term, jawboning oil traders and other energy investors may be Mr. Trump's most effective tool. Oil prices fell sharply on Monday after he told CBS News that the war with Iran is "very complete," at least temporarily allaying concerns about a drawn-out conflict.
Here are other measures the Trump administration could use to reel in gas prices and other energy costs.













