Trump orders probe into oil companies 'not dropping their price' and says 'customers are being 'gouged' at the pump

By JAMES GORDON, US NEWS REPORTER Published: 06:38, 24 June 2026 | Updated: 06:59, 24 June 2026 President Donald Trump has accused America's biggest oil companies of ripping off drivers at the gas pump - ordering the Justice Department to investigate after crude prices plunged but retail prices did not fall as quickly as he wanted. In a furious post sent after midnight on Wednesday, Trump said oil companies were failing to pass on the full benefit of sharply cheaper crude to ordinary Americans. 'The big Oil Companies are not dropping their price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices they are paying for Oil,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'Those prices are dropping like a rock! In other words, customers are being 'gouged.' Trump said he had instructed the Department of Justice to act. 'I have instructed the DOJ to immediately start looking into this,' he wrote. 'Gasoline prices better start going down a lot faster than what I'm seeing!' The president's late-night broadside came as drivers were already beginning to see relief after weeks of painful prices. The national average price of gasoline fell for a sixth consecutive week, dropping 14.1 cents per gallon over the past week to $3.85 on Monday, according to GasBuddy. That represents a decline of roughly 15 percent from the peak reached in May.  Prices were $5.49 per gallon at gas stations in Los Angeles earlier this week. President Donald Trump accused major oil companies of failing to cut gasoline prices in line with the recent slide in crude oil In a Truth Social post sent after midnight Wednesday, Trump said consumers were being ‘gouged’ at the pump The national average price of gasoline fell 14.1 cents a gallon over the past week to $3.85 on Monday, according to GasBuddy. Pictured, fuel prices are displayed from May in Washington Prices have fallen in most states, with particularly sharp drops in parts of the West and Midwest.  GasBuddy data showed average prices fell by 25 cents a gallon in Colorado over the past week, 22 cents in Arizona and 21 cents in Ohio. The average national price also slipped below $4 per gallon last week for the first time since March, after the US and Iran announced a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending their conflict and restoring shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. But Trump made clear that he believes motorists should be seeing a faster and deeper drop at the pump. Karen Young, a senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, described Trump’s post as ‘political theater,’ saying gasoline prices do not move in lockstep with crude oil prices. ‘That’s not really how gasoline prices work in the US,’ Young told CNBC’s Access Middle East. She said state and local taxes also shape what drivers pay at the pump, while refiners and retailers take time to adjust their pricing. ‘It really is up to refiners, and it takes a couple of weeks before crude prices drop, that then the prices at refineries, and then on to eventually consumers, can really respond,’ Young said. Prices were $5.50/gallon at these Mobil and Chevron gas stations in Los Angeles on Monday Trump warned oil companies that gasoline prices ‘better start going down a lot faster’ than he was seeing Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, seen earlier this month Oil markets have shed much of the risk premium built up during the conflict with Iran, as fears of a prolonged disruption to the Strait of Hormuz - one of the world’s most important oil transit routes - began to ease. Brent crude fell 1 percent to $76.30 per barrel Wednesday, while US West Texas Intermediate dropped 1.1 percent to $72.43 per barrel.  Both benchmarks were at their lowest levels since early March after losing around 1 percent the previous day. The retreat came as shipping through the strait showed signs of returning, albeit slowly.  Two smaller crude tankers passed through the waterway on Monday, despite Iran saying it had again closed the passage over the weekend. Traffic remains far below the levels seen before the conflict began in late February, leaving markets vulnerable to renewed disruption. Trump's appears ready to fight gasoline companies piling pressure on refiners, distributors and retailers as his administration tries to show consumers that lower oil prices are translating into savings Retail gasoline prices can also lag because stations may still be selling fuel bought when oil was more expensive.  Refining costs, transportation expenses, taxes and inventories all influence the final price drivers see on roadside signs. Still, Trump’s intervention piles pressure on refiners, distributors and retailers as his administration tries to show consumers that lower oil prices are translating into savings. The Justice Department has not said what form any investigation might take. A review could examine whether companies across the fuel supply chain have kept margins unusually high despite the decline in crude prices. The comments below have not been moderated. 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