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He singled out two companies, that presented windfall earnings for the second quarter.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly slammed oil companies for not lowering their prices, as the global cost of oil has been sent into turmoil because of the war in Iran.
The exact reason is that the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of all global crude oil has to travel, has been repeatedly either shut or opened, leaving companies and investors uncertain about what to expect.
And now Donald Trump took direct aim at the nation’s largest oil companies on Monday following a string of record earnings reports.
Making “too much money”
Speaking to reporters at the White House, he voiced sharp frustration.
“They’re making too much money based on a shortage,” Trump told reporters at the White House, according to CNBC. “I don’t like it.”
The president singled out energy giants Chevron and ExxonMobil, insisting that corporate profits had grown excessive during a period of global conflict. He urged executives to lower fuel costs at the pump immediately.
“Chevron, too much money. ExxonMobil, too much money,” Trump said. “They’re going to give some of that back to the public and they better cut the retail price, the consumer price.”
War drives prices
The surge in profits follows months of heavy disruption in global energy markets. Ever since the United States and Israel struck targets in Iran on February 28, crude prices have jumped about 20 percent, according to CNBC.
Tehran retaliated by attempting to choke off shipping traffic through the crucial Strait of Hormuz. That bottleneck triggered the largest supply disruption in history, pushing crude oil futures to an average of $92 per barrel between April and June.
American drivers felt the impact right at the pump. AAA figures showed nationwide gasoline averaging $4.10 per gallon on Monday, a 40 percent jump from $2.98 before the fighting started.
Windfalls under pressure
The market shift created massive windfalls for corporate producers. Chevron reported second-quarter profits of $12 billion, marking an impressive 400 percent jump from $2.5 billion a year earlier, according to CNBC reporting.
ExxonMobil saw its own net earnings more than double to $14.5 billion over the same three-month stretch. CNBC reached out to both ExxonMobil and Chevron for comment on the president’s remarks.
Wall Street reacted quickly to the tension. Shares of Chevron fell nearly 2 percent, while ExxonMobil dropped slightly, even as crude prices slipped 5 percent on hopes that upcoming talks might cool the conflict.
