“President Donald Trump on Thursday brushed aside concerns about much higher gas prices because of the Iran war, even as a new poll showed that most U.S. voters blame him for the pump price spike,” CNBC reports.

Said Trump: “Well, they are not very high.”

“The war in Iran has forced airlines to raise prices and cut flights. But soon, some of them, particularly in Europe, could struggle to find enough jet fuel to put planes in the sky,” the New York Times reports.

“Ryanair, the low-cost airline that dominates flying within Europe, said this week that its suppliers could guarantee it enough jet fuel only through most of May. The airline said fuel could be in short supply if ships laden with energy did not soon begin passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway on Iran’s southern coast.”

A new Quinnipiac poll finds 38% of voters approve of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president, while 55% disapprove.

Key takeaway: A stunning 65% say they blame Trump for higher gas prices, while 34% blame him not much (11%) or not at all (23%). 

“Just because it looks like we’re going in the wrong direction doesn’t mean that’s the direction we are going.”

— Energy Secretary Chris Wright, on Fox News.

Bloomberg: “Across the U.S., soaring electricity costs are burdening consumers and stirring voter anger. The rapid build-out of artificial intelligence data centers, along with tariffs and upgrades to an aging grid, has raised power prices at rates unseen in decades. The war in Iran is throwing global energy markets into upheaval, adding a surge in gasoline prices to affordability concerns.”

“The energy strains have propelled the once-mundane utility bill to the center of US politics, a place it hasn’t occupied since electricity became a staple of American life. After a 2024 election in which voter concerns over inflation and the economy helped send Donald Trump back to the White House, the outcome of this year’s midterms stands to be as much about the price of power as the price of groceries.”

“Oil prices jumped over 7% to well over $100 per barrel when markets opened Sunday evening and remained high into Monday,” Axios reports.

“The latest surge shows that traders don’t see last week’s U.S.-Iran ceasefire deal reviving large-scale tanker transit through the Strait of Hormuz — and it undoes a large amount of the price drop that followed the pause in hostilities.”

“Two empty supertankers attempted to make their way through the Strait of Hormuz and into the Persian Gulf on Sunday, only to make a last-minute U-turn just as peace negotiations between the US and Iran broke down, threatening a fragile ceasefire,” Bloomberg reports.

New York Times: “Google the price of oil, and you’ll most likely find two widely quoted prices for the commodity, one in the United States, the other in Europe.”

“These prices, which are constantly changing on electronic markets, suggest that although the war with Iran has made energy a lot more expensive, things are not nearly as bad as they were four years ago, after Russia invaded Ukraine.”

“But if you needed an actual tanker full of oil — and quickly — it would cost you dearly.”

CNBC: “Consumer prices spiked in March as the Iran war sent energy costs soaring and took the Federal Reserve further from its inflation target, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Underlying inflation, however, was relatively tame.”

“The consumer price index increased a seasonally adjusted 0.9% for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 3.3%, pushed by a 10.9% surge in energy costs.”

CNBC: “Oil prices were higher on Friday amid persistent tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, with the vital shipping lane still largely closed despite a ceasefire deal between the U.S. and Iran.”

“Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained blocked Thursday, limited to a handful of Iran-linked ships, another sign that a fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran has yet to improve flows through the world’s key energy chokepoint,” Bloomberg reports.

“Just seven vessels, all of which have either called at Iranian ports or were carrying Iranian cargo, were observed making the voyage out of the Persian Gulf on Wednesday and into Thursday morning. Normal transits in both directions are more like 135 a day.”

CNBC: “The Strait of Hormuz has not opened to ship traffic after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire.”

Oil prices will remain 20% higher than before the Iran war, even if the Strait of Hormuz were to reopen at full capacity, Axios reports.

“Oil plunged toward $90 a barrel after the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire that’s expected to halt the American-Israeli military campaign in exchange for Tehran reopening the Strait of Hormuz,” Bloomberg reports.

CNBC: Oil prices plunge below $100 after Iran agrees to safe passage through Strait of Hormuz during ceasefire.