Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Sunday said he is “avoiding” price predictions as gas prices continue to skyrocket amid the ongoing war with Iran.
In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Wright said the U.S. is in a “tremendous position,” though he admitted prices will continue to be high as the conflict in the Middle East continues.
“We're by far the world's largest producer of oil. We're by far the world's largest producer of natural gas. There's been no rise in the price of natural gas,” Wright said. “That's the largest primary energy source for the United States, that's for home heating, that's for electric. Gasoline and diesel prices are up, and they will remain up while this conflict's in place, and then they will come back down. And, ultimately, they'll come back down lower than they were before.”
The average cost of gas is around $4.55, according to AAA, with the cost of oil rising above $95 per barrel. When pressed whether gas prices might actually go even higher, Wright told CBS’ “Face the Nation:” “I don't know the future of gas prices.”
“Ending the Iran nuclear program is a tough challenge,” Wright said. “Is there short-term dislocation from that? Absolutely, but we need to make that trade off, or we have a long-term threat to peace in the region, long-term threat to energy supplies, long-term threat to Americans.”
In March, Wright said there was a “good chance” that gas prices would drop below $3 per gallon before the summer travel season begins. But on Sunday, Wright said he “can't make any predictions about oil prices or gasoline prices.”
“I can say that when we start to get free flow of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, energy prices will come down,” he said.
However, Wright did appear to support the idea of a federal gas tax as an option to provide relief.
“All measures that can be taken to lower the price at the pump and lower the prices for Americans, this administration is in support of,” Wright said. “We are constantly looking for different ideas.”
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