Bessent urges gas retailers to cut prices ahead of July Fourth festivities

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday pressed gasoline retailers to cut prices before July Fourth celebrations, telling Fox News the administration was “watching.” He said he would encourage retailers owned by Big Oil, independents and international convenience chains to act as “good actors.”

The warning followed the message President Donald Trump delivered a day earlier, when he told gas stations to aim for roughly $2.50 a gallon and threatened “big problems” if they did not comply.

AAA pegged the national average for regular gasoline at $3.847 a gallon on Tuesday, down slightly from $3.860 on Monday. The average slipped below $4 on June 18 for the first time since March 30. GasBuddy projected the July 4 average would land around $3.75 a gallon, which would make it the second-most expensive Independence Day at the pump on record, behind only July 4, 2022, when the average hit $4.80.

Reuters market data on Tuesday showed crude headed for its steepest monthly and quarterly losses since 2020 after a preliminary June 15 agreement between the United States and Iran to end their war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz helped push prices lower. Cheaper crude is expected to filter through to gasoline, but that pass-through depends on refining margins, regional taxes and how quickly retailers trim prices at the pump.

Trump has already escalated the pressure. On June 24, he told the Justice Department to investigate oil companies over alleged gasoline price gouging and named Exxon Mobil and Chevron in a social-media clip. On June 29, he said gasoline retailers needed to get prices down immediately.