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Trump Administration Denies It's Reviewing $200 Oil
White House Spokesman Says Contingency Analysis Is Routine as Crude Climbs After Iran Conflict
White House officials are denying reports that the administration is examining what a potential spike in oil prices as high as $200 a barrel would mean for the economy.
But people familiar with the matter said such a scenario is under review, a sign senior officials are studying the possible fallout from extreme scenarios for the Iran war.听
Modeling of how damaging a bigger jump in oil prices could be to growth prospects is part of regular assessment done during times of strain and is not a prediction, according to the people, who asked not to be identified commenting on matters that aren鈥檛 public. The effort is aimed at making sure the administration is prepared for all contingencies, including a prolonged conflict, they said.
Even before the war began, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressed concern that the conflict would boost oil prices and damage economic growth, the people said. Senior Treasury officials have communicated worries to the White House about swings in oil and gasoline prices for several weeks, some of the people said.
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White House spokesman Kush Desai called that account 鈥渇alse,鈥 saying, 鈥淲hile the administration is always evaluating various pricing scenarios and economic impacts, officials are not examining the possibility of oil reaching $200 per barrel, and Secretary Bessent has not been 鈥榳orried鈥 about the short-term disruptions from Operation Epic Fury.鈥
Bessent, he said, has repeatedly 鈥渃onveyed both his and the administration鈥檚 continued confidence in the long-term trajectory of the American economy and global energy markets.鈥
Oil prices have jumped since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, with West Texas Intermediate up about 30% at $91 a barrel. Brent crude is up almost 40% over the same period, trading around $102.
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The White House said March 25 that diplomatic efforts to end the war are still underway despite Iran鈥檚 public rejection of President Donald Trump鈥檚 push for talks and threatened further military action if no agreement is reached. On March 23, Trump set a five-day deadline for Iran to negotiate a deal to end the war.
The administration planned for the military campaign to last four to six weeks, the White House has said. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on March 12 that a spike to $200 a barrel is 鈥渦nlikely.鈥
Crude at $200 would be an enormous shock to the world economy. In inflation-adjusted terms, the price has hit that level only once in the last half-century 鈥 in 2008 just before the global financial crisis.
Even at lower levels, Bloomberg Economics forecasts that oil at $170 per barrel for a few months would push inflation higher for the U.S. and Europe and cut economic growth.听
Trump has said he鈥檚 not concerned about rising energy costs, even suggesting they鈥檙e beneficial to the U.S., and predicted that oil prices will drop sharply once the war ends.
But the near-shutdown of shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries as much as a fifth of global oil and gas exports, has already hit economies around the world.
European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde said last week that the hostilities have stoked inflationary risks. Peers in Frankfurt, London and Japan are priming for interest rate hikes as soon as next month.
In the U.S., the most visible impact has been a 30% increase in retail gasoline prices, wiping away declines over the last year that Trump had touted as a key economic achievement.
The outlook for U.S. monetary policy is also increasingly muddled as the Federal Reserve watches for the impact of higher oil prices on inflation. Last week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that it was听too soon听to gauge the effects of a surge in oil prices on the U.S. economy.
Written by Hadriana Lowenkron, Saleha Mohsin and Eric Martin
