Hypatia415
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- May 31, 2026
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From here: The U.S. Produces The Most Oil —So Why Are Gas Prices Surging?
What’s happening is a function of global markets, supply chain realities, and predictable patterns in consumer behavior. In fact, much of what we’re seeing is exactly how the system is designed to work.
America Produces the Most Oil—But Doesn’t Set the Price
The U.S. leads the world in oil production, but oil isn’t priced locally, nor are prices set by oil companies. Because the U.S. exports oil to the global markets, it’s priced globally by traders bidding for oil. That is a distinction many people do not realize.Think of the oil market as a single, interconnected system. When supply is threatened anywhere, prices respond everywhere. And few places matter more than the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage through which ~20% of the world’s oil flows. When that chokepoint is at risk, traders price in the risk immediately.
And here: America barely uses Middle East oil. So why did gas prices rise?
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.
Based on those facts, you might think a war in the Middle East would have no bearing on gas prices in the United States. You would be wrong.
“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.”
When the United States began airstrikes against Iran, oil prices spiked around the globe.
You sure fall for any lie that is thrown out there.
