President Donald Trump has escalated pressure on the oil industry, announcing he has instructed the Department of Justice to investigate major oil companies over allegations of gasoline price gouging. The move comes even as pump prices have been falling for weeks, with Trump arguing the declines simply aren't keeping pace with the sharp drop in crude oil costs.
What Trump Said
Trump said on Wednesday that he has instructed the Department of Justice to look into oil companies for not lowering pump prices in line with falling crude costs. "The big Oil Companies are not dropping their price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices they are paying for Oil. Those prices are dropping like a rock! In other words, customers are being 'gouged,'" Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. He added, "I have instructed the DOJ to immediately start looking into this. Gasoline prices better start going down a lot faster than what I'm seeing!"
Trump did not name any specific companies in his post, which was published after midnight, and the White House and Justice Department did not respond to requests for further comment outside regular business hours.
The Numbers Behind Trump's Frustration
Gasoline prices have actually been falling for some time — just not as fast as crude oil itself. The average price of gasoline in the US stood at $3.906 per gallon early Wednesday, according to GasBuddy data, down more than 14% from the peak in May. By comparison, crude oil prices fell 23% over the same period, with the US and Iran reaching an interim peace deal and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway through which one-fifth of global oil supply moved before the war began. From their peak in March, US crude prices have sunk roughly 40%.
That gap between crude's steep decline and gasoline's more modest one appears to be the core of Trump's complaint. Gasoline prices in the United States had been declining for six consecutive weeks amid the renewed push to settle the conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran diplomatically, with the national average for a gallon of regular falling by 14.1 cents last week to $3.85 as of Monday, based on GasBuddy data. Still, pump prices remain significantly higher than the $2.764 per gallon recorded in January, more than a month before the Iran conflict began, giving Trump ammunition to argue that relief at the pump still has a long way to go.
Why Crude Prices Fell So Sharply
The price collapse in crude traces directly back to the easing Iran conflict. ING commodity analysts noted that positive signals from the Persian Gulf are fuelling optimism about oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, with vessel crossings increasing in recent days, although they remain well below pre-war levels. A senior analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting, as quoted by Reuters, said crude oil prices were weighed down by hopes of easing US-Iran tensions and a recovery in oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
That said, a full supply recovery is expected to take time. Kuwaiti officials have indicated that regional oil output won't fully recover for another 10 to 12 weeks even after Hormuz reopens — a detail that helps explain why retailers may be lagging in passing on crude's full decline to consumers at the pump, given lingering uncertainty about how quickly supply chains will actually normalize.
Market Reaction
Trump's comments rippled into oil markets almost immediately. Oil extended its decline as Trump accused oil firms of "gouging" consumers, with the President writing that big oil companies were not dropping pump prices commensurate with sharply lower crude costs. The accusation adds a new layer of political pressure on energy companies already navigating a volatile pricing environment shaped by the Iran ceasefire, fluctuating Hormuz traffic, and broader OPEC supply dynamics.
For ongoing, real-time tracking of US gasoline and crude oil price trends, the US Energy Information Administration's gasoline and diesel price data remains the most authoritative source for verified national and regional pump price figures.
What Happens Next
With no companies named and no formal DOJ statement yet issued, it remains unclear how quickly — or how seriously — this directive will translate into an actual investigation. Still, the announcement signals that the administration is prepared to use regulatory pressure to push gasoline prices down further as the broader de-escalation with Iran continues, and oil companies will likely face continued political scrutiny over their pricing decisions in the weeks ahead.