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“The Retailers must quickly react to this statement, and do what they know is right — DROP YOUR PRICE FOR OUR GREAT AMERICAN PEOPLE!” Trump said online.
Trump went on to accuse retailers of gouging customers, saying they should start to target around $2.50 a gallon.
“California should stop charging such heavy taxes on their gasoline,” Trump said. “Soon the tax will be higher than the product itself, and the United States will not stand for it, nor will the People of California, who are being abused by these ridiculous taxes.”
Crude oil is the main ingredient in gasoline, and its cost makes up the bulk of what consumers pay at the pump. But oil companies don’t set gasoline prices; gas station owners do. Those operators often have little choice but to raise pump prices when the cost of oil surges like it did during the war with Iran.
Even after crude prices come down, it can take weeks or longer for market changes to reach refineries and eventually consumers, experts said.
Some components of fuel prices are outside a gas station’s control.