America barely uses Middle East oil. So why did gas prices rise? [View all]

In a speech to the nation on April 1, President Donald Trump spoke of the Iran war, and the contest for control of the Strait of Hormuz, as if their outcome had little bearing on the market for oil and gasoline in the United States.

“The United States imports almost no oil through the Hormuz Strait and won’t be taking any in the future,” Trump said. “We don’t need it. We haven’t needed it and we don’t need it.”

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Why did the Iran war raise gas prices here?

America produces more than 13 million barrels of crude oil a day, as of January. We export more oil than we import. But we also consume a lot of oil, and we import about 6 million barrels a day. Only a small fraction comes from the Persian Gulf.

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“It’s a global market,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. “So, oil literally flows to the highest price. If a tanker can get a higher price in Malaysia than it can in Rotterdam than it can in Rio de Janeiro, it’s going to go to Malaysia.”

https://finance.yahoo.com/sectors/energy/articles/america-barely-uses-middle-east-200203727.html

In other words, corporate greed. Why refine the oil we produce when they can get more on the international market.