Energy Secretary Chris Wright warned of a surge in the price of oil and energy over the coming days if shipping in the disputed Strait of Hormuz doesn’t resume.
“We’re going to see energy prices high—and maybe even rising—until we get meaningful ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz,” Wright said at the Semafor World Economy conference in Washington on April 13.
He added that “that’ll probably hit the peak oil price at that time,” which will be “probably sometime in the next few weeks.”
“Once the conflict ends and energy starts flowing again, you’ll start to see downward pressure. But it will take some time,” Wright said.
Wright also said that “the president knew going into this that if you disrupt the flow of energy in the short term, you’re going to push up energy prices.”
“In fact, I’m very proud of a president who ... has done everything he can to grow supply and therefore push down the price of energy [and] was willing to say, ‘I’m not going to kick that can down the road,’ as other administrations have,” he said.
His remarks came as the U.S. military initiated a naval blockade of Iranian ports, including those located in the Strait of Hormuz, after peace talks in Pakistan fell through. Tehran threatened to strike targets across the region in response, according to state-run media.
Shortly after the blockade was set to begin, President Donald Trump warned on social media that Iranian warships that come “anywhere close” to the U.S. blockade will be destroyed in a “quick and brutal” strike.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, reached over $100 in March and early April. On Tuesday, the price dipped below $100 and hovered at around $95. The price for WTI crude, meanwhile, dropped Tuesday to $93 per barrel.
Data released by the American Automobile Association (AAA) on Tuesday shows a small drop in the average price for a gallon of gasoline nationwide. As of Tuesday morning, the average price was $4.11, a decrease of around 3 cents from a week ago.
A week earlier, Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran that has so far held up following weeks of U.S.–Israeli airstrikes on Iranian targets. Tehran responded to the strikes by firing missiles and drones at Israel and other Middle Eastern nations, while it also launched attacks on commercial shipping vessels in the region.
On Tuesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was asked about Chinese tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran said it would collect a toll as a precondition to reopen the waterway.
“Those ships aren’t going to be allowed out anymore,” Bessent told a group of reporters on the sidelines of the IMF World Bank meetings. “So they’re [China] not going to be able to get their oil.”
When asked what his message to those paying the tolls would be, he said, “You’re not going to pass.” And if a country pays the toll, “they are in violation of U.S. sanctions, and that never ends well,” he said.
Wright’s comment came as the International Monetary Fund said the global economy would be facing a test due to the Middle Eastern conflict, saying global growth will slow down to 3.1 percent in 2026 and 3.2 percent in 2027.
“A longer or broader conflict, worsening geopolitical fragmentation, a reassessment of expectations surrounding artificial‑intelligence‑driven productivity or renewed trade tensions could significantly weaken growth and destabilize financial markets,” the fund said in a report released Tuesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
