Sky-high gas prices from President Donald Trump’s war in Iran could linger for years, according to an economist.
In an appearance on MS NOW, Henrietta Treyz, Veda Partners’ co-founder and director of economic policy, gave a grim prognosis for drivers, saying it would be some time until we see “anything with a $2 in front of it” at the pump.
The sobering assessment comes as the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow body of water off Iran’s west coast through which around one-fifth of the world’s oil flows, remains closed to traffic.
Iran has stunned the world with its continued closure of the strait, strangling oil supply lines, forcing the U.S. to implement a blockade and causing gas prices to go through the roof.
“The answer is you’re not getting regular flow through the Strait of Hormuz until September,” said Treyz.
“So my calculation is that, on the trajectory we’re at right now, we should be expecting $4.90 gas by the end of next week,” she continued. “We are on track to get to $5 or even above by Memorial Day.
“So there is no immediate wind down. And I think the most important people to talk to are the folks who insure the tankers. Without insurance, you can’t get tankers through the strait.
“They’re telling me as of Wednesday last week that it’s going to be September that we get anything like regular flow.
“And, after that, even if you take out the 300 percent increase in insurance costs and you clear the backlog of ships, you have to deal with the reality that 80 of the largest refiners and energy producers on the earth have been bombed.”
She added that it would be “years until those facilities are back up and running and we’re near anything with a $2 in front of it for gas.”
“I’m saying years,” the economist affirmed. “September until we get back to anything with a regular flow, and then you got to rebuild 80 facilities. It’s gonna be years.”
Treyz’ assessment came even after Trump announced “Project Freedom,” which he has described as a “humanitarian gesture” to help guide ships through the strait.
He said that any interference would “be dealt with forcefully.”
Asked for comment on Treyz’ remarks, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told the Daily Beast: “Is this the same Henrietta who was a devout donor to Kamala Harris, a failed candidate whose Green New Scam attempted to destroy the oil industry and sent gas prices soaring across the country?”
The AAA reported this week that gas prices hit at the pump $4.446 on Sunday.
Trump has tried to suggest, since the war started and prices soared, that getting them back down would not be a mammoth task.
Speaking to Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo in April, he was asked if he thought prices would drop before the midterms, to which he said, “I hope so. I mean, I think so, it could be, it could be, or the same or maybe a little bit higher, but it should be around the same.
“I think this won’t be that much longer,” he added. “They’re wiped out, Maria, they’re wiped out.”
