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BusinessQuiet 3d · day 5

Diesel hits record highs as Middle East and Ukraine wars choke refineries

Global refining capacity constraints, not crude shortages alone, drive fuel prices to historic levels across U.S. and Europe.

newest coverage 2d agosummary written 2d ago4 pieces NewswiresMastodonGoogle News

What to know

  • Diesel prices hit record highs—$6.52/gallon in the U.S., €2.41/liter in France—driven by Middle East and Ukraine wars damaging refineries and disrupting shipping.
  • The core crisis is global refining capacity, not crude scarcity: existing refineries run at 97% capacity in the U.S., with little spare capacity easily activated.
  • Even if wars end, prices will remain elevated for months as refineries are repaired, inventories rebuilt, and normal trade restored.
  • Consumers will face higher costs across the economy as transportation, agriculture, and supply chains dependent on diesel pass increased expenses downstream.

“Technically, there is some unused capacity on paper, but very little that can be activated quickly and supplied with the right crude.”

Janiv Shah, Vice president, Rystad Energy · Dawn ↗

Paul KrugmanPaul Krugman EconomistKenneth Gillingham Yale environmental and energy economics professorJaniv Shah Vice president, Rystad EnergyToril Bosoni Head of International Energy Agency oil industry divisionGregory DeYong Southern Illinois University supply chain management professor

Diesel hits record highs as Middle East and Ukraine wars choke refineries
pbs.org

How it unfolded 3 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts

Peak 2 pieces in two hours at Sep 23, 5 PM; 4 pieces over 5 days (3 articles · 1 post) Sep 21, 9 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 21, 11 AM — quietSep 21, 1 PM — quietSep 21, 3 PM — quietSep 21, 5 PM — quietSep 21, 7 PM — quietSep 21, 9 PM — quietSep 21, 11 PM — quietSep 22, 1 AM — quietSep 22, 3 AM — quietSep 22, 5 AM — quietSep 22, 7 AM — quietSep 22, 9 AM — quietSep 22, 11 AM — quietSep 22, 1 PM — quietSep 22, 3 PM — quietSep 22, 5 PM — quietSep 22, 7 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Google News 1Sep 22, 9 PM — quietSep 22, 11 PM — quietSep 23, 1 AM — quietSep 23, 3 AM — quietSep 23, 5 AM — quietSep 23, 7 AM — quietSep 23, 9 AM — quietSep 23, 11 AM — quietSep 23, 1 PM — quietSep 23, 3 PM — quietSep 23, 5 PM — 2 pieces · 1 article · 1 post — Mastodon 1, Newswires 1Sep 23, 7 PM — quietSep 23, 9 PM — quietSep 23, 11 PM — quietSep 24, 1 AM — quietSep 24, 3 AM — quietSep 24, 5 AM — quietSep 24, 7 AM — quietSep 24, 9 AM — quietSep 24, 11 AM — quietSep 24, 1 PM — quietSep 24, 3 PM — quietSep 24, 5 PM — quietSep 24, 7 PM — quietSep 24, 9 PM — quietSep 24, 11 PM — quietYesterday, 1 AM — quietYesterday, 3 AM — quietYesterday, 5 AM — quietYesterday, 7 AM — quietYesterday, 9 AM — quietYesterday, 11 AM — quietYesterday, 1 PM — quietYesterday, 3 PM — quietYesterday, 5 PM — quietYesterday, 7 PM — quietYesterday, 9 PM — quietYesterday, 11 PM — quietToday, 1 AM — quietToday, 3 AM — quietToday, 5 AM — quietToday, 7 AM — quiet 12–3
Sep 22Sep 23Sep 24yesterdaynow · 9:46 AM ET
  1. 2

    Price relief unlikely to arrive quickly even if wars end

    Experts note that repairing and building refineries takes several months to years. U.S. refineries were running at 97% capacity as of Sept. 11; resolving the crisis requires not just an end to conflicts but also inventory rebuilding and restoration of normal trade flows.

    “It will still take some time for prices to come back down, simply because inventories will have to be rebuilt, refineries will have to be put back up and running, and the standard flow of trade would have to be reestablished.”
    — Kenneth Gillingham
  2. 3

    Experts warn consumers will bear brunt of rising diesel costs

    PBS reporting details how the U.S. war in Iran and Russia's war in Ukraine have triggered record diesel prices, with experts forecasting higher costs across consumer goods and transportation. Russia, the third-largest refined oil producer globally, saw refinery throughput drop to 20-year lows in June after Ukrainian strikes.

    “Diesel is the fuel that moves the economy.”
    — Patrick De Haan
    1. 2 outlets 3 things to know about rising diesel prices and how they affect you

      first by PBS NewsHour, 2d ago · also PBS

  3. 1 day quiet
  4. 1

    Global refining crisis identified as driver of diesel surge

    Reporting shows diesel and fuel prices hitting fresh highs not primarily due to crude scarcity but because wars have damaged refineries, creating capacity constraints. French officials estimate the global market is missing 10 million barrels of crude per day out of 105 million consumed daily. Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman identifies the crisis as one in petroleum products, not petroleum itself.

    “The current world energy crisis, then, is largely a crisis in petroleum products, refined from crude oil, rather than in petroleum itself.”
    — Paul Krugman
    1. 1 outlet Why diesel prices are rising more than crude oil

      first by Dawn, 4d ago

  5. background

    Diesel reaches record prices in U.S. and Europe — U.S. diesel averages $6.52 per gallon according to AAA; French diesel hits €2.41 per liter (approximately $10.40 per gallon). Both are record highs, reflecting global refining constraints caused by Middle East and Ukraine conflicts.