Millions of Americans watching fuel costs may soon get relief at the pump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told lawmakers Wednesday that gasoline prices could begin dropping once the conflict involving Iran comes to an end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Bessent, prices may not only return to earlier levels, but could potentially fall even lower if global energy markets stabilize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think the conflict will end, and I think gasoline prices will come back to where they were, or perhaps lower,\u201d Bessent said during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked by Sen. Jack Reed how quickly consumers might see lower prices, Bessent said the timeline depends on when the overseas conflict is resolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That means drivers may need to watch global developments closely in the weeks ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to AAA, the national average price for regular gasoline reached $4.02 per gallon on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That figure was slightly below last week\u2019s $4.10 average, but still well above the $2.98 national average recorded on Feb. 28.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Higher fuel prices often impact household budgets, shipping costs, airline tickets, groceries, and inflation across the economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the hearing, Bessent also defended recent sanctions relief involving Iran and Russia, saying it helped release more than 250 million barrels of oil into global markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He argued that without those added supplies, oil prices could have risen dramatically higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe American consumer has been better off,\u201d Bessent said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If tensions ease and oil supplies improve, experts say Americans could begin seeing lower gas prices in coming weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For now, motorists, commuters, and businesses remain focused on one question: When will prices finally fall?<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Millions of Americans watching fuel costs may soon get relief at the pump.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance"],"yoast_head":"\n