Scott Bessent, the US Treasury Secretary, expressed confidence that global oil prices will fall sharply once shipping constraints in the Gulf region lift. Addressing the press corps, he argued that current supply levels are sufficient and that market fears of a sustained crisis appear overstated.
Bessent highlighted that nearly two thousand ships are awaiting departure from the Gulf, forecasting a rapid influx of crude once transit improves. The assessment arrives amid heightened attention to the Strait of Hormuz, through which a large portion of the world’s oil supply passes daily.
He pointed to an already observed ten-percent decline in oil prices during May, attributing the softening to flexible production from major exporters. Bessent said he expects markets to remain well supplied after the present disruption ends, keeping downward pressure on prices.
The Treasury chief also anticipated that lower crude values would translate into reduced gasoline costs at the pump. He credited America’s expanded energy production and lighter regulatory framework with making the economy more resilient to geopolitical shocks.
Bessent connected steady energy prices to broader inflation control and continued economic expansion. On the question of prolonged Hormuz closures, he predicted that reopening would unleash a wave of tankers, enabling swift processing and delivery while reinforcing the administration’s call for free maritime movement.
