President Donald Trump escalated his pressure campaign on the energy sector Monday, posting on Truth Social that oil companies must “get your consumer (retail!) Oil Prices DOWN, NOW!”

The comments followed Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX) CEO Mike Wirth‘s interview with Fox Business, in which Wirth detailed the company’s strong recent performance.

Trump credited his administration’s policies for Chevron’s return to Venezuela, calling the move “far bigger and stronger than ever before.”

He then pivoted to a familiar target: retail gas prices, which he argues have not fallen fast enough alongside crude.

Trump’s renewed warning landed on a day when oil prices tumbled sharply. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped as much as 8% Monday, sliding below $80 a barrel, while Brent crude fell roughly 5% to around $83.56, according to Trading Economics.

The decline followed Trump’s weekend announcement that he called off a planned strike on Iran, opting instead to restart talks aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Weaker manufacturing data out of China and the U.S., plus OPEC+ plans to keep raising production quotas into September, added further downward pressure on crude.

Lower energy costs eased inflation concerns and pushed Treasury yields down, with the 10-year yield slipping about 5 basis points to 4.68%.  Falling oil reduces pressure on the Federal Reserve to hold rates higher for longer, a dynamic investors have welcomed after a volatile July.

For Big Oil, the setup remains awkward. Cheaper crude improves margins for refiners in the short term, but Trump’s public demands for lower retail prices put executives in a bind between shareholder returns and political optics ahead of the midterms.

Chevron, along with peers, is expected to post some of its strongest profits in years even as the White House insists motorists deserve bigger savings at the pump.

Whether Monday’s crude slide finally shows up at gas stations nationwide may determine if Trump’s latest ultimatum gets any traction with the industry.

This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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