Trump's method for punishing Iran threatens to inflict pain at the US gas pump ahead of elections

[Rhiannon12866]

President Donald Trump is blaming OPEC for rising oil prices, but analysts say his sanctions on Iran are largely fueling a rally in the crude market.

Just days after OPEC agreed to increase output to tamp down prices, the State Department sent crude costs soaring by announcing a policy to wipe out much of Iran's exports by November.

The policy threatens to leave the world short of oil and rob Americans of the gasoline price relief they usually get in the fall, just as they're preparing to vote in midterm elections.

The Trump administration's effort to punish Iran by swiftly curtailing that nation's energy exports is undermining its goal of preventing oil prices from rising ahead of midterm elections.

That policy now threatens to leave the world with a shortage of crude and rob Americans of the gasoline price relief they usually get in the autumn. It may even leave drivers paying more at filling stations in the fall, just as they're preparing to cast their votes in elections that could hand Democrats control of the House.

Americans are already seeing their gas bills rise after enjoying years of low costs thanks to an historic downturn in oil prices. U.S. gasoline futures are up about 17.5 percent this year, and have risen nearly 38 percent since President Donald Trump took office.

Trump appeared to get his way just over a week ago when two dozen oil producers agreed to pump more crude to tame rising oil prices. Worried that Trump's sanctions on Iranian oil exports would cause Americans pain at the gas pump, his administration reportedly lobbied Saudi Arabia for the hike.

But just days after OPEC announced its decision, the State Department sent oil prices soaring by announcing a policy that threatens to wipe out much of Iran's crude exports in the coming months. By Saturday, Trump was tweeting that he'd asked Saudi Arabia's king to raise output by up to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) — double what the Saudis and their allies agreed to the previous week.


More: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/01/trumps-iran-policy-may-cause-pain-at-the-gas-pump-ahead-of-elections.html

[no_hypocrisy]

1. This Trump "strategy" is based on two assumptions:

1. That he can strong-arm the EU to boycott Iranian oil, taking it off the market and inflating the price, and

2. Saudi Arabia going against OPEC and producing two million more barrels a day to plug the hole that Trump has created. The gap may be illusory today and reality in the future.