Trump says oil prices will fall after midterm elections

President Donald Trump said that oil prices that have surged because of the Iran war likely won’t come down until after U.S. midterm elections. He added that he expects Iran will abandon its war effort after the elections.

Oil prices on Wednesday jumped more than 3%, pushing international Brent crude past the $100 threshold for the first time since July as tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalated.

“Right after the election, oil prices are going to be tumbling downward,” Trump said. “I think it’s going to take a little bit longer than the midterm.”

Speaking to journalists before traveling to Dallas for the midterm Republican convention, Trump said that he believes Iran will finally relent after the pivotal elections are held in the U.S.

“They’re desperate to try and affect the election, so that we can get a nice weak group of people in there, and leave them alone and let them have their nuclear weapon,” Trump said. He added, “I think the war’s going to end immediately after the election because they can’t hold out any longer,” Trump said.

The surge in oil prices is likely to further increase fuel costs in the US, which have emerged as a key economic pain point ahead of the midterms. Gas prices on Wednesday jumped 7.3 cents per gallon, the largest one-day increase since May, according to AAA data. The average gas price nationwide is now $4.22 per gallon.