Trump praises gas drop; U.S. reserves at 43-year low

President Trump praised falling pump prices after a U.S.-Iran agreement signed June 14 reopened the Strait of Hormuz and the national average for regular gasoline slipped below $4 a gallon.

Since May 21 the national average fell from $4.56 to $4.12 as crude oil settled below $100 a barrel. Analysts estimate the Iran agreement accounted for roughly 13 cents of the decline that pushed the average under $4. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell about 5% to $83.13 on June 15, roughly 30% below its March 9 peak of $119.50. The current pump price is about 28% higher than the $3.13 average a year earlier.

White House officials said tanker traffic through the Strait should begin rising immediately, projecting flows could climb to about 50 ships per day from roughly 25 currently; before the conflict about 130 ships passed through daily. The administration described the agreement as easing near-term supply bottlenecks and delivering faster relief at the pump.

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve stood at its lowest level since 1983, the Energy Information Administration reported, leaving little spare capacity to cushion future disruptions. Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy and a former energy adviser to the George W. Bush administration, warned of a “historic 1.5 billion barrel supply loss” that would take “many weeks and months” to work through.

Analysts note the recent price slide began before the June 14 agreement and reflects a broader easing in crude markets. They say rebuilding inventories and reversing the large supply shortfall will take time, which complicates how much relief consumers will ultimately see.

Consumer inflation rose from 2.4% in February to 4.2% in May, the highest since April 2023. The Federal Reserve, under Chair Kevin Warsh, met this week and most economists expect policymakers to hold interest rates steady. Falling energy prices can reduce pressure on inflation readings and could affect the timing of future rate cuts.

For now, Americans are paying less at the pump. The durability of that relief depends on whether the agreement holds in practice and on how quickly global supplies adjust to fill the shortfall left by months of disruption.