Trump pleads with oil companies to keep prices down after Iran blockade threat
Donald Trump is calling on 'everyone' to 'keep oil prices down' and has commanded the Department of Energy to open up drilling after oil prices surged to their highest levels in the wake of the president's attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.
'EVERYONE, KEEP OIL PRICES DOWN,' he wrote in an all-caps message on Truth Social on Monday.
'I'M WATCHING! YOU'RE PLAYING RIGHT INTO THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY. DON'T DO IT!' he added.
In a separate post, he ordered the Department of Energy to 'DRILL, BABY, DRILL!!! And I mean NOW!!!'
International energy traders have braced for massive disruptions following Iran's parliamentary vote to support the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically important choke point for the world's oil supply.
Within hours after Saturday's attacks, roughly 50 oil tankers were seen scrambling to leave the strait.
'We're on it!' energy Secretary Chris Wright responded to Trump's post. 'Thanks to President Trump's leadership, America's energy security is stronger than ever before.'
U.S. crude oil futures surged by more than 6 percent to peak at $78 a barrel on Sunday — more than $1 higher than the price set at the time of Trump's inauguration on January 20.
The spike is likely to trickle down to gasoline prices as Americans prepare for a three-day Fourth of July weekend.
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