President Donald Trump on Friday said he “called up” OPEC and told the producer group to take action to bring down fuel costs, making a dubious claim that gasoline prices are already falling.
Crude futures extended earlier losses following Trump’s statement. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down nearly 3% at $63.32 per barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude fell 2.7% to $72.34.
“The gasoline prices are coming down. I called up OPEC. I said, ’You’ve got to bring them down. You’ve got to bring them down, and gasoline’s coming down,” Trump told reporters en route to a National Rifle Association event in Indianapolis.