Trump attributes U.S. fuel price rise to Democratic policies and Ukraine attacks on Russian refineries
President Donald Trump said higher gasoline costs are driven by refinery closures in Democratic-led states and Ukraine’s strikes on Russian facilities, while analysts point to reduced Middle East shipments and global market strains.
President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that recent gasoline price increases are no longer caused by disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, but by refinery problems, citing Ukraine’s attacks on Russian plants and closures in states such as California governed by Democrats.
Data from the American Automobile Association show the average U.S. gasoline price rose to $4.36 per gallon, up from $4.14 a month earlier and $2.98 in late February, when the United States and Israel began air strikes against Iran.
"The ongoing conflicts with Iran and Russia’s war with Ukraine are reinforcing each other, impairing oil product markets, but Middle Eastern flows are far from normal," said Rachel Ziemba, senior adjunct fellow at the Center for a New American Security.
The G7 announced a release of 100 million barrels of diesel and crude from emergency reserves after pressure from the White House, while the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve has fallen to its lowest level since 1982.
"U.S. tells some EU members to release ‘strategic reserves’ or face a potential U.S. diesel export ban, pushing France and Germany to do so, oil prices, along with gasoline and diesel futures, strongly lower as a result," wrote Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, on X.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence reported disabling more than half of Russia’s oil-refining capacity, a development that analysts say has pushed diesel prices higher. Ziemba added that damage to Russian refineries and the risk of additional U.S. sanctions on processors of Russian oil are worsening the market, but the core issue remains volatile Middle Eastern flows and reduced supply buffers.
The International Energy Agency noted that Russian refinery throughput reached its lowest level in two decades, with diesel output down about 30 percent over the past 18 months. In the United States, two refineries in California have shut down in the past year, cutting the state’s refining capacity by roughly 17 percent, according to S&P Global analysis.