As long as the Strait of Hormuz is under threat, there will be no cheap gasoline 0 8

Fuel taxes in the United States are several times lower than in most European Union countries. Therefore, the average American consumer will not feel a significant improvement in their financial situation, as the inflationary spiral has already been set in motion — largely due to decisions made by Trump himself, says fuel market expert Alexey Shvedov.

At the same time, the temporary suspension of the federal fuel tax in the United States will not affect the global oil and petroleum products market in any way. Consequently, this news will not cause any price changes at gas stations in Latvia.

Many have probably heard of the so-called trading strategy TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) — "Trump always backs down." Now, Wall Street has come up with a new meme abbreviation — NACHO (Not A Chance Hormuz Opens), meaning "No chance that Hormuz will open." In other words, global energy resource supply routes will remain blocked until high oil prices and inflation lead to unbearable economic costs.

Signs of the NACHO strategy appeared on Monday after Trump stated that the ceasefire regime is "in critical condition," and he has not even read the Iranian peace plan.

Meanwhile, Iran's leadership is in no hurry to relinquish control over this crucial logistics hub. The ability to control shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is currently Iran's strongest weapon. The standoff between Iran, the U.S., and other countries in the Persian Gulf remains extremely tense, with all parties involved continuing to test each other's "red lines" and ability to control energy resource flows through the strait. This creates a situation of extreme uncertainty and, consequently, high volatility, which in turn becomes a source of profit for the select few.

According to several analysts, a significant portion of the profit growth for companies like Shell, BP, and TotalEnergies in the first quarter of 2026 was driven by the operations of trading divisions that capitalized on the high volatility of the oil and gas markets. This surge occurred against the backdrop of disruptions to traditional logistics flows due to the conflict in the Middle East. The second reason was U.S. intervention in the situation in Venezuela.

Therefore, while traders are making billions from TACO and NACHO strategies, billions of people on our planet will continue to live in uncertainty about what tomorrow's prices for food and fuel will be.