WASHINGTON — Energy Secretary Chris Wright predicted that soaring oil prices will cool off within the “next few weeks” after the war in Iran wraps up, while sidestepping a question about whether he expects it to top $200 a barrel.
Oil prices have been hovering around $100 a barrel in the futures markets since President Trump announced a massive attack on Kharg Island, a critical Iranian oil hub, where some 90% of its crude exports flow through.
“This conflict will come to an end in the next few weeks, and we’ll see a rebound in supplies and a pushing down of prices after that,” Wright told ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday.
“We were very aware, very aware, that we would have [a] short-term disruption… [that] would cause a little bit of increased prices on Americans,” he added. “Prices today are still far below where they were in the Biden administration, where they were begging, bartering, and bribing Iran to behave better.”
Wright recalled how gasoline prices neared $5 a gallon at one point during the Biden administration, but was hopeful that there wouldn’t be a repeat of that this time.
The Energy Secretary also dodged a question about the Iranians’ warning about oil reaching roughly $200 a barrel.
“I would pay no attention to what Iran says,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday when asked about the risks of oil prices broaching $200 a barrel.
