How Trump's Tariffs Could Bring a Spike to Gas Pump Prices and Heating Bills

President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico could mean higher heating bills and prices at the pump.

After a monthlong pause on his tariff plans, Trump on Tuesday imposed a 25% tax on most imports from Canada and Mexico, with a 10% tax on Canadian energy imports such as natural gas and oil. An administration official last month said the lower levy was meant to minimize disruptions in gasoline and home heating prices, but experts say Americans can still expect price increases. Continue reading here (Source: USA Today).

Brent Hits 6-Month Low on OPEC+ Output Increase, US Tariffs, Pause in Ukraine Aid

Oil prices fell to multi-month lows on Tuesday after reports of OPEC+ plans to proceed with output increases in April while further price pressure was applied by U.S. tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China as well as Beijing's retaliatory tariffs.

Brent futures were down 75 cents, or 1%, at $70.87 a barrel by 1:03 p.m. EST (1803 GMT). The session low was $69.75 a barrel, its lowest since September.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was off 28 cents a barrel, or 0.4%, at $68.09. The benchmark previously dropped to $66.77 a barrel, the lowest since November. Continue reading here (Source: Reuters).

US Natural Gas Prices Surge On Record Export Flows

U.S. natural gas futures jumped in Monday’s early trading session, rebounding from recent lows driven by robust export flows and strong demand forecasts. Henry hub gas was trading at $3.98 per MMBtu at 11.25 am ET, up from a two-week low of $3.74 per MMBtu a week ago. U.S. LNG exports hit a fresh record 15.6 bcfd in February, boosted by new units at Venture Global’s (NYSE:VG) Plaquemines plant.

The Arlington, Virginia-based LNG exporter commenced LNG production at its Plaquemines LNG plant 30 months after the final investment decision (FID) was made, making the plant with a 20 mtpa nameplate capacity one of the two fastest greenfield projects to reach first production. Once fully operational, Plaquemines will be among the largest LNG facilities in the world, featuring 36 electrically-driven 0.626 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) liquefaction trains, configured in eighteen blocks. Continue reading here (Source: OilPrice).

Why Are Gas Prices So High?

Trump’s first moves: Since taking office, President Donald Trump took a number of steps that could have implications for U.S. gas prices, though it's unclear how immediately those impacts would be felt.

Gas prices surged in 2021 and 2022 amid economic disruptions caused by the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and they’ve never been the same. Today, gas prices are 35% higher than they were six years ago.

What’s keeping gas prices so high? Seasonal factors, inflation, supply-chain disruptions and gas tax hikes can play a role. But elevated oil prices are the main culprit. Continue reading here (Source: Nerdwallet).

The Potential Economic Effects on Trump's Tariffs and Trade War, In 9 Charts

On Feb. 1, President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico — the United States’ largest trading partners.

U.S. importers will pay a 25 percent tax on all goods from Canada and Mexico, as Trump tries to force both countries to curb migration and drug trafficking into the United States. Imports from China, meanwhile, will face 10 percent tariffs — punishment for Beijing’s failure to rein in the smuggling of fentanyl precursor chemicals to Canada and Mexico, where they are made into U.S.-bound fentanyl. Continue reading here (Source: PBS).

Refinery Closures and Rising Consumption Will Reduce US Petroleum Inventories in 2026

In 2026, we forecast that inventories of the three largest transportation fuels in the United States—motor gasoline, distillate fuel oil, and jet fuel—will fall to their lowest levels since 2000 in our February Short-Term Energy Outlook.

Two pending refinery closures will reduce U.S. production of refined petroleum products. When combined with our forecast of growing consumption, we expect inventories for the three fuels to decline through 2026. We forecast inventories for these fuels will end next year at 375 million barrels, the lowest since 2000 when they ended the year at 358 million barrels. Continue reading here (Source: US Energy Information Administration).