Burgum Says U.S. Officials Have Discussed Oil Futures Trading

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum stated that the Trump administration has deliberated on trading in the oil futures market as a means to help check the soaring crude prices in the wake of the Iran war.

However, Burgum mentioned that he wasn’t at present aware if the US had indeed intervened in the market.

“I would state that there has been a discussion. Our administration has a great number of intelligent individuals — many of them are proficient in the energy trading market,” Burgum stated during an interview with Bloomberg Television in Tokyo on Saturday. “An intervention aimed at manipulating and reducing prices would demand an enormous amount of capital. That’s all I’ll say regarding that aspect.”

His remarks occur as US and Israeli attacks on Iran continue to disrupt the global energy landscape, confining millions of barrels of oil in the Persian Gulf, with the Strait of Hormuz effectively blocked.

Global crude futures have jumped by over 40% in the nearly two weeks since the conflict started, pushing US gasoline prices to their peak in 22 months.

Burgum, who is in Tokyo prior to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s visit to Washington on March 19, will take part in the first-ever US-hosted Indo-Pacific Energy Security Ministerial and Business Forum this weekend. This event takes place as the White House endeavors to cut US reliance on China and diversify supply chains for critical minerals used in mobile phones, batteries, and other products.

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Additionally, Burgum stated that although it has been discussed, any form of Treasury intervention ranks lower on the administration’s list of potential actions to alleviate the surge in oil prices compared to other alternatives. He refrained from specifying what those other possibilities could be.