Trump: OPEC is “doing little to help” with gas prices

President Donald Trump says OPEC is “doing little to help” rising gas prices and claims “if anything, they are driving prices higher.”

Mr. Trump tweeted Wednesday: “The OPEC Monopoly must remember that gas prices are up & they are doing little to help. If anything, they are driving prices higher as the United States defends many of their members for very little $’s. This must be a two way street. REDUCE PRICING NOW!”

Last month, members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries cartel agreed to pump 1 million barrels more crude oil daily, a move that should help contain the recent rise in global energy prices. However, summer months in the U.S. usually lead to increased demand for oil, boosting the price of gasoline in a midterm election year.

An Iranian oil official said the  U.S. president should stop tweeting about oil because Mr. Trump is making the situation worse, according to Bloomberg News. 

“Your tweets have driven the prices up by at least $10 per barrel,” Iran’s OPEC governor Hossein Kazempour Ardebili said the message, Bloomberg reported, citing the Iranian Oil Ministry’s Shana news service. “Pls stop it, otherwise it will go even higher!”