HOUSTON –
U.S. officials this week said the historic spike in fuel prices during the war in Iran will be short-term and trumpeted record U.S. production at an industry conference where oil executives and government officials from Asia, the Middle East and Europe bemoaned the worst oil and gas supply disruption in decades.
The contrasting messages relayed to industry leaders at the annual CERAWeek conference in Houston reflected the different political realities in the U.S. and the rest of the world.
U.S. cabinet members said American consumers could absorb a temporary price shock. Their effort to project calm reflected the political stakes for President Donald Trump, who has slid in the polls even as he repeatedly said the war is already won and promised the financial pain will be short-lived.