Jeff Currie, head of global energy at Goldman Sachs, points out that $91 Brent looks almost civilized, but the real crisis is in diesel prices, which have reached $170:
According to Currie, nobody on the planet consumes crude oil; refineries do. Everyone else consumes gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel:
European diesel was trading around $170 per barrel, almost twice Brent’s current $90.94:
He also emphasizes that governments have spent decades creating an “illusion of abundance” through strategic reserves, but this disruption is different:
Currie expects refiners to eventually increase runs, but until then, $91 Brent may provide investors with a comforting picture of an oil market that consumers stopped living in weeks ago:
