Americans expect petrol prices to keep rising after Iran strikes: Reuters/Ipsos poll
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Petrol prices are sensitive in the US, as one of the most immediate indications Americans have of changes to their cost of living.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON – Most Americans think petrol prices are going to rise in coming months following US President Donald Trump’s decision to launch military strikes on Iran, and many expect a protracted conflict, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on March 9.
Some 67 per cent of respondents in the four-day poll – including 44 per cent of Republicans and 85 per cent of Democrats – said they expect petrol prices in the US to get worse over the next year.
Sixty per cent of Americans expect US military involvement in Iran will “go on for an extended period of time”, according to the poll.
US and Israeli forces launched coordinated strikes on Iran on Feb 28, killing the nation’s leader in an initial surprise attack.
The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll found just 29 per cent of Americans approve of the strikes, little changed from a 27 per cent approval rate in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in the hours immediately following the start of the military campaign. Both polls had margins of error of about 3 percentage points.
The latest poll underscores the political risks Mr Trump brings to his Republican Party ahead of the November midterm elections when the Democrats hope to seize control from Mr Trump’s party of at least one chamber of Congress.
Some 64 per cent of poll respondents – including one in four Republicans and nine in 10 Democrats – said Mr Trump has not clearly explained the goals of US military involvement.
Petrol prices surge
Mr Trump returned to the White House in 2025 after promising to tame inflation and prevent the military from getting stuck in a foreign conflict. Since he launched strikes on Iran, US petrol prices have surged by roughly 50 cents (64 Singapore cents) a gallon and at least seven U.S. soldiers have been killed.
Petrol prices are highly sensitive in the US, as one of the most immediate and visceral indications Americans have of increases and decreases in their cost of living.
Energy prices were rising daily last week across the country and internationally, including during the weekend as the Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted.
Analysts expect weeks or months of higher fuel prices worldwide even if the week-old conflict ends quickly.
Mr Trump is considering ways to combat surging prices, but US policy options could have limited sway over global oil markets.
On March 9, he told reporters the military operation in Iran is “ahead of our initial timeline by a lot”.
Forty-nine per cent of Americans – including a third of Republicans and two-thirds of Democrats – think the war in Iran will have a mostly negative impact on their personal finances. About one in three Republicans said they were not sure how the war would affect their finances.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll, which was conducted online, surveyed 1,021 US adults nationwide. REUTERS
