According to him, the cost of fuel raw materials will rise until the movement of tankers through the Strait of Hormuz is restored. At the moment, Iranian authorities have declared control over the strait. The United States announced a retaliatory blockade the day before.
“We will see high energy prices, and perhaps even higher prices, until significant shipping traffic begins to pass through this key waterway,” Wright said.
Oil prices will reach record levels over the next few weeks,” he believes.
CNN notes that a month ago, Wright said there was a “very high likelihood” that Americans would see lower gas prices by the summer. On April 13, the minister warned that gasoline prices would not fall for several more months, the TV channel notes.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, while speaking earlier today at the Semafor World Economy Summit in Washington, said that he expects energy prices will continue to rise and “peak” in the next few weeks, as both Iran and the United States are now threatening to blockade the… pic.twitter.com/rHwkGTSuKy
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) April 14, 2026
Context
Amid the US-Israeli war against Iran, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has almost stopped since March 1, leading to a sharp rise in oil prices.
On March 10, information appeared in the media that Iran had allegedly begun mining the strait. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the US Navy will escort tankers from companies that cooperate with the Americans through the Strait of Hormuz.
On March 14, US President Donald Trump called on China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK and other countries to send their ships to create conditions of openness and security in the Strait of Hormuz.
At midnight on March 22, Trump threatened to strike Iranian energy facilities if the Strait of Hormuz was not fully opened within 48 hours. After this, the country's representative at the UN maritime agency, Ali Mousavi, said that ships not involved with “Iran's enemies” could pass through the strait, subject to security coordination with Tehran. He did not say what exact conditions he was talking about, however, as Lloyd's List reported, Iran began charging ships for “safe” transit through the Strait of Hormuz. At least one oil tanker operator agreed to pay about $2 million for the deal.
On April 11, US and Iranian delegations held talks in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, but they failed to conclude an agreement. Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on April 13 that after the decision to blockade Hormuz, the United States “will miss gasoline at $4-5.”
