Trump vows to halve energy costs in 12 months. Few see that happening.

Presidents have limited control over the global oil market, industry experts say, and any steep price drop could make it unprofitable for firms to “drill, baby, drill.”

“My goal will be to cut your energy costs in half within 12 months after taking office,” former President Donald Trump said in a speech in Michigan last Thursday. “We can do that.”

Industry analysts doubt it.

The Oval Office is equipped with few levers to influence energy prices, which are largely controlled by executives and policymakers across a range of oil-rich countries, experts say. What’s more, a price drop as steep as Trump wants could make pumping oil and gas too unprofitable to bother with.

The U.S. president can create “a more optimal environment” for domestic energy firms and “encourage other oil-producing countries to produce more or produce less,” said Helima Croft, the managing director and global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, a financial firm. However, “he’s not going to be able to increase U.S. oil production by his signature in a way that would materially bring oil prices down by half,” she said.

Donald Trump has made achieving “energy dominance” key to his economic pitch.Kamil Krzaczynski / AFP - Getty ImagesTrump, seeking a second term as president, has made achieving “energy dominance” key to his economic pitch. He has slammed rival Vice President Kamala Harris’ previous opposition to fracking along with the Biden-Harris administration’s green energy efforts. Instead, Trump calls to “drill, baby, drill” for fossil fuels — “liquid gold under our feet,” in his words — to bring down Americans’ electricity costs and pump prices.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/trump-cut-energy-costs-oil-prices-rcna169004

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