Trump wants cheaper gas, but are retailers gouging?
President Donald Trump wants to see the price you pay at the pump come down.
Earlier this month, the national average price of gasoline fell to $3.99 per gallon, making it the first time fuel prices have been below $4 since March 30, a month after the United States and Israel began the war with Iran.
With tens of millions of Americans looking to hit the road this Fourth of July weekend, and as gas prices and affordability remain a major concern for Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections, Trump wants gas prices to drop faster.
“Gasoline Retailers must get their Prices down, IMMEDIATELY!” Trump declared on Truth Social on Monday. “They’re too high considering that Oil is now at $68 a Barrel, and heading south.”
“There will be no gauging, which is totally illegal. If Retailers don’t do this, big problems lie ahead! Start targeting around the $2.50 a Gallon number,” Trump wrote.
Trump administration says ‘we’re watching’ gas prices
Last week, Trump said he was asking the Justice Department to look into oil companies because gas prices weren’t coming down fast enough.
On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged gasoline retailers to lower prices.
“I would encourage all the gasoline retailers, some of them are owned by Big Oil, some are independent, some are international convenience chains,” said Bessent in an interview with Fox News Channel. “I would encourage them to be good actors, especially in the 250th anniversary, because we’re watching.”
Gas prices drop, but still higher than a year ago
Trump “has a decent point on retail prices,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, posted on X on June 30.
That’s because gas retailer margins are up, he said, posting data from OPIS, an energy data firm, showing retailers had higher margins in June (12.4%), up from 11.7% in June 2025. This comes after retailers experienced below-2025 margins for the previous three months (March-May 2026), compared to a year ago, according to OPIS data.
But De Haan said he didn’t think retailers were gouging consumers. Across the United States, 39 states have average gas prices below $4 per gallon, according to GasBuddy’s data. And in most states, 46 out of 50, prices are down from last week, De Haan said.
Oil and gas prices are related, but it’s more complex than that.
“Many Americans wrongly make the assumption that because oil is X, gas should be Y,” De Haan told USA TODAY. “It doesn’t take into consideration complexities that happen at the refining level, and this time around, Ukraine had been busy attacking Russian refineries.”
Other factors include the cost of summer gasoline, which is more expensive to produce, and slightly reduced production at refineries due to the heat dome over much of the United States.
Regardless, gas prices are falling faster than they did in 2022, when the end of COVID-19 restrictions coincided with U.S. and European Union sanctions hindering the Russian sale of crude oil after the country invaded Ukraine.
“Prices are actually falling a little bit faster than they did in 2022, although you know all things are rarely equal, but it’s a pretty good comparison,” De Haan said.
While Americans will spend $300 million less on gasoline now than they did 40 days ago, they will spend $225 million more than they did a year ago, De Haan posted on X.
Oil prices, after recently dropping to nearly pre-war levels, have risen slightly in recent days. International benchmark Brent crude was priced at $73 per barrel on June 30, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was priced at $70.
On Feb. 27, the day before the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, Brent closed at $72.48 a barrel, and WTI closed at $67.02.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Mike Snider is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky and X, and email him at mikegsnider & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com.
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