Energy Sec Chris Wright says Americans may face higher gas prices for ‘next few weeks’

Energy Secretary Chris Wright warned Americans on Sunday that they will likely continue to experience higher gas prices for the “next few weeks,” as global energy markets respond to the ongoing conflict with Iran.

Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, Wright said the US is experiencing a “short-term disruption in the flow of energy.” Gas prices currently average $3.69 worldwide, according to the American Automobile Association, a sharp increase from the sub-$3 national average that existed before the current conflict began.

“Americans are feeling it right now. Americans will feel it for a few more weeks, but at the end, we will have removed the greatest risk to global energy supplies,” Wright said.

Despite the recent hike, Wright predicted that prices could decline relatively quickly. When asked whether gasoline could fall back below $3 per gallon by summer, he said, “There’s a very good chance that’ll be true.”

“There’s no guarantees in war. The timeframe’s still not entirely clear. But I think that’s certainly a goal of the administration and very possible,” he said.

Following US strikes on Iran, global oil prices climbed to roughly $100 per barrel, particularly after President Donald Trump announced an attack on Kharg Island, which is responsible for roughly 90 percent of Iran’s crude oil exports.

Wright also told ABC News that he expects the conflict to wind down “in the next few weeks” and that there will be a “rebound in supplies and a pushing down of price.”

“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 explained. “Prices today are still far below where they were in the Biden administration, where they were begging, bartering, and bribing Iran to behave better.”