Marketplace Morning Report An attempt to blunt rising oil prices
Mar 19, 2026
Scott Kennedy, CSIS China expert, explains how Middle East tensions reshape U.S.-China bargaining. Nancy Marshall-Genzer, Marketplace economic reporter, recaps the Fed's pause and Powell’s caution. Nova Safo, energy reporter, breaks down the Jones Act waiver and why its gasoline relief may be limited. They discuss oil price spikes, shipping rules, Fed uncertainty, and shifting diplomatic leverage.
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Middle East Attacks Pushed Oil Prices Higher
- Suspected strikes on Iran's South Pars gas field and retaliatory hits on Qatar and Saudi infrastructure pushed oil to $115 a barrel and U.S. gas to $3.88 per gallon.
- Nova Safo notes the Strait of Hormuz risk and analysts say waiving the Jones Act will only trim a few cents off pump prices.
Use Jones Act Waiver To Boost Fuel Shipments
- Waiving the Jones Act for 60 days expands the pool of ships available to move fuel between U.S. ports and can lower shipping costs.
- Colin Grabo and analysts predict only modest relief, trimming gasoline prices in reliant regions by a few cents per gallon.
U.S. Has Very Few Jones Act Tankers
- U.S. domestic shipbuilding has shrunk to fewer than 100 qualified Jones Act vessels and just 55 tankers, inflating domestic shipping costs.
- That structural shortage is why opening ports to foreign ships briefly eases supply constraints.