Oil is nearing prewar prices. Why hasn’t gasoline followed suit?

The Hill reports that crude oil has returned to prewar price levels following a U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding intended to end the conflict, yet gasoline prices at the pump remain significantly elevated—a gap the article attributes to individual gas station owners' reluctance to lower prices rather than oil company "gouging" as President Trump has claimed. The reporting is sourced from named analyst commentary and reflects established journalistic practices at a major national outlet, though the article body's specifics are not fully visible in the metadata provided. Independent reporting from the New York Times, Al Jazeera, and Investopedia corroborates the crude-price recovery and adds important context: oil has fallen to its lowest levels since the war began in February, with forecasters projecting further gradual gasoline declines later in the year—though GasBuddy projects July 4 prices near $3.75/gallon, the second-highest on record. Critical readers should monitor whether the retail-level price lag narrows in coming weeks as wholesale costs remain depressed, and track whether further Middle East supply disruptions (like the Strait of Hormuz attacks referenced in search results) reverse the downward oil trend.