President Barack Obama said on Thursday that a working group will be established to examine rising gas prices and the Justice Department will try to “root out” cases of fraud or manipulation in oil markets.
But even as Obama attempted to assure Americans they would not be gouged by high gas prices, Attorney General Eric Holder was suggesting that there are a variety of legal reasons behind gas prices surging to nearly $4 a gallon.
“We are going to make sure that no one is taking advantage of the American consumer for their own short-term gain,” Obama said in a town-hall meeting at a renewable energy plant in Reno, Nevada.
Obama said that the task force will focus some of its work on “the role of traders and speculators” in skyrocketing oil prices and will be comprised of several Cabinet department officials, federal regulators and the National Association of Attorneys General.
On Thursday, the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.84, about 30 cents higher than one month ago and close to one dollar higher than one year ago.
In Washington, Holder said he would begin the investigation, although he offered no evidence of intentional speculation currently ongoing in the oil and gas markets.
