Less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump publicly called out his top energy official for a more muted assessment of volatile fuel costs, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has offered a sunnier outlook, telling a Senate committee Tuesday that national gasoline prices appear to have already hit their highest point following a jump tied to escalating tensions around the Iran conflict.
Speaking before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Wright acknowledged that long-term forecasts for energy markets remain uncertain, but pointed to early market indicators that suggest the recent upward price spike has already run its course. “I don’t know the future of energy prices — often I will speculate or look at those things. I would say, gasoline prices, it looks like they peaked about a week or so ago,” Wright told the panel during the oversight hearing.
Wright also drew a direct comparison between current price levels and the record peaks recorded under the prior administration of Joe Biden, noting that this year’s highest per-gallon price remains one full dollar lower than the all-time record set during Biden’s tenure. He framed the current price trajectory as a notable win for the administration even amid ongoing geopolitical upheaval in one of the world’s most critical energy-producing regions. “Yet we’re in the midst of ending a 47-year conflict in the Middle East, a major energy-producing region,” he added, positioning the administration’s handling of energy markets as a strong point amid widespread public concern over household fuel costs.