The price of gasoline may be going down soon, if President Donald Trump gets the deal he wants in the Middle East but the unpredictable politics may have consumers feeling like a ping pong ball at the pump.
The reason we say "may" instead of "will" is because the factors are always so complicated when it comes to politics in connection with the war in Iran.
President Trump announced the framework for an arrangement with Iran that he said includes a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, that long body of water on Iran's western edge through which 20% of the world's oil flows.
The closing of the strait has sent the price of oil -- and therefore the price of gasoline -- up to the current levels, and since both price move together, if oil drops in price so should gasoline.
Following President Trump's announcement Saturday night, the worldwide markets for oil and gas reopened as usual on Sunday night, with oil prices dropping nearly 5% -- but does that mean we'll get 5% off at the pump next time we get gas?
That depends on how long the price of oil stays down -- if it's only down for a couple of days don't expect your next full up to save much money because prices are always fast to rise but slow to drop.
Experts like GasBuddy's Patrick DeHaan say if oil prices stay down, though, you should see the price of gasoline down, too, within a few days.
The complexity comes from the fact that oil and natural gas prices move quickly up and down on any normal day, and you add to it the volatility of the politics of the Middle East and you end up with consumer gas prices bouncing back and forth like a ping-pong ball.
Luckily, if President Trump gets the deal he wants, this game of ping-pong may be over soon.