La Jornada: The US Secretary of Energy rules out that crude oil prices will drop soon

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright acknowledged that his initial forecast that gasoline prices in the United States could fall by next summer is “overly optimistic” and acknowledged that “they may go up more before going down.”

In an interview during the Semafor summit on the World Economy in Washington. “In the very long term, no doubt, this will drive prices down. But we will see high, even rising, energy prices until shipping traffic passes through the Strait of Hormuz. At that point, the peak oil price will probably be reached. That will probably happen in the next few weeks,” Wright said.

The government representative stated that “it depends on how the conflict develops, but it is a very real possibility; once it ends and energy flows again, downward pressure will begin to be felt. However, it will take time… The longer the conflict lasts, the longer the recovery will take.”

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump expects oil and gas prices to remain the same, “or maybe a little higher,” until the midterm elections in November, he told Fox News on Sunday.

US Central Command announced a “blockade of all maritime traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports,” which went into effect Monday morning.

Patrick De Haan, head of oil analysis at GasBuddy, said gas prices are expected to rise this week.

“The move towards a complete blockage of the Strait of Hormuz is exacerbating global supply concerns and risks further disruption to flows, leading to a sharp rise in oil prices in Sunday night trading,” De Haan said in a statement shared on its Substack account.

“As a consequence, gasoline prices are likely to rise again this week, and diesel is expected to follow the same trend, until maritime traffic through the strait is significantly restored,” he added.