The Trump administration is authorizing an early shift to the sale of wintertime gasoline blends, its latest move to blunt fuel costs and supply concerns stoked by the war in Iran.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday it was relaxing normal summertime gasoline requirements. The switch, which enables the use of a dirtier-burning wintertime fuel blend, typically happens in mid September.
The waiver allows the sale of gasoline blended with 10% ethanol starting Sept. 1.
The administration said the move would boost the domestic gasoline supply by hundreds of thousands of barrels per day by effectively ending the summer-blend gasoline requirement early and said it should provide Americans more price relief at the pump.
"President Trump has prioritized ensuring American families have affordable gasoline and energy," EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a news release.
The impact on fuel prices may depend on how quickly states, some of which have their own gasoline requirements, respond to the change in federal policy.
US average gasoline prices have been above $4 a gallon since mid-July, according to the American Automobile Association. That's about $1 more per gallon than when the Iran war began and the highest price US drivers have ever paid this late in the year.
The Energy Department, which forecasts prices are set to remain high through the end of the year, recently revised its monthly outlook higher as the US and Iran have failed to reach a deal to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The waiver allows fuel refiners and distributors to switch over gasoline pumps in parts of the country where smog is a problem. Low-volatility gasoline is required to minimize air pollution during summer months in many parts of the country but also requires more expensive blending ingredients.
Other steps the administration has taken to lower fuel prices include allowing foreign ships to transport oil between US ports and authorizing more sales of higher-ethanol E15 gasoline during summer.
https://finance.yahoo.com/energy/articles/us-allows-early-sales-winter-182512609.html
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