The United States government has started a Department of Justice investigation into major oil companies. This follows claims that these companies are overcharging customers while national gasoline prices continue to change.

美國政府已啟動司法部對大型石油公司的調查。此前有指控稱，在國家汽油價格持續變動之際，這些公司對消費者過度收費。

The current instability began with a conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran, which led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. This event blocked about 20% of global oil shipments and caused crude oil prices to rise above $100 per barrel. Although the waterway has since reopened, the administration emphasizes that retail gas prices have not dropped as much as crude oil prices, which fell by about 27% in early June.

目前的動盪始於美國、以色列與伊朗之間的衝突，導致霍爾木茲海峽被封鎖。此事件阻斷了全球約 20% 的石油運輸，導致原油價格升至每桶 100 美元以上。儘管該水道現已重新開放，但政府強調零售汽油價格的跌幅不如原油價格顯著，後者在 6 月初下跌了約 27%。

President Trump has specifically named ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and BP as companies that may be overcharging consumers. He described the current average price of $3.92 per gallon as too high and argued that prices should have returned to $2.25, a level not seen since January 2021. This approach shows a potential change in the usually friendly relationship between the government and the oil industry.

川普總統特別點名 ExxonMobil、Chevron、Shell 與 BP 為可能對消費者過度收費的公司。他認為目前每加侖 3.92 美元的平均價格過高，並主張價格應回落至 2.25 美元，這是自 2021 年 1 月以來未曾見過的水平。此舉顯示政府與石油工業之間通常友好的關係可能發生變化。

However, industry experts and the American Petroleum Institute assert that the slow drop in prices is due to supply chain delays. They explained that retailers must sell their expensive old stock before they can lower prices. Furthermore, analysts from GasBuddy and the Oil Price Information Service suggest that while prices are trending downward, returning to 2021 levels is unlikely because of high summer demand and previous global supply shocks.

然而，業界專家與美國石油學會則主張，價格下跌緩慢是由於供應鏈延遲。他們解釋，零售商必須先銷售昂貴的舊庫存才能降低價格。此外，GasBuddy 與石油價格資訊服務（Oil Price Information Service）的分析師指出，雖然價格呈下降趨勢，但由於夏季需求高以及之前的全球供應衝擊，不太可能恢復到 2021 年的水平。

The Department of Justice is now reviewing how major oil companies set their prices, while experts expect fuel costs to decrease slowly but remain higher than they were before the conflict.

司法部目前正在審查大型石油公司如何設定價格，而專家預計燃料成本將緩慢下降，但仍將高於衝突前的水平。