The war in Iran and the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical corridor for the world’s crude oil, have squeezed global oil shipments and kept crude costs elevated. Also contributing to the volatility are Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries that have knocked millions of barrels of processing capacity offline, tightening supplies of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel worldwide.
GasBuddy said these disruptions “have disconnected crude oil prices from fuel prices, pushing refining margins, or ‘crack spreads,’ to record levels, a dynamic that could keep fuel prices elevated this fall and may push diesel prices to record highs in the weeks ahead.