The global fuel squeeze is worsening despite sub-$100 crude, with European diesel prices up 70% since the war began and U.S. diesel cracks hitting record highs. Refining capacity has become the critical bottleneck, as Middle Eastern outages and Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries remove millions of barrels of fuel production.
Shrinking inventories could prolong the crisis for months, driving higher diesel prices and intensifying inflation risks worldwide, particularly as winter approaches.
The outlook for the Middle East war remains grim, the U.S. just threatened Iran with the “toughest sanctions in history,” and the world is running out of stored fuels.
