Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Monday that a US ban on fuel or crude exports would not lower domestic pump prices, Bloomberg reported.
Burgum said the administration would consider an export ban only if there were a direct correlation between stopping exports and lowering prices at home, the report said.
The comments came as retail diesel prices topped $6 a gallon and gasoline prices exceeded $4, with speculation that the administration could impose export restrictions ahead of the midterm elections, Bloomberg said.