The directive follows six weeks of declining national gasoline prices, which hit a $3.85 average for a gallon of regular as of Monday. While the president signaled frustration with the speed of this downward trend, the broader market reflects a cooling in geopolitical risk. Crude oil benchmarks, including Brent and West Texas Intermediate, have fallen to four-month lows as traders bet on a diplomatic thaw between Washington and Tehran.

Optimism stems from reports of tankers successfully navigating the Strait of Hormuz without interference from Iranian forces. Commodity analysts at ING and Mitsubishi UFJ noted that this increased traffic is easing supply fears, driving oil prices down. Despite the president’s call for an immediate DOJ inquiry into retail margins, the current market dynamics suggest that the lag at the pump often follows a cooling in international crude benchmarks.