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Diesel crack spread hits record highs in US and Europe
The US diesel crack spread reached triple digits for the first time ever, with the premium over crude rising to as much as $102 per barrel before easing to around $100.
The oil market has stayed relatively calm in recent months despite severe global supply disruptions, with crude futures rarely moving above $100 per barrel even as tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains far below pre-war levels, OilPrice reports.
Instead, the physical tightness is showing up in refined-product pricing. OilPrice says the diesel crack spread, the pricing gap between crude and the diesel made from it, hit record highs this week in both the United States and Europe.
In the United States, the premium over crude climbed to as high as $102 per barrel on Monday, before easing slightly to about $100 on Tuesday, OilPrice reports. The outlet adds that the US diesel crack spread has moved to triple digits for the first time ever.
OilPrice attributes the squeeze in diesel availability to wars in Iran and Ukraine, which it says restrict product supply from the Middle East and Russia, along with Chinese fuel exports that have not yet meaningfully rebounded after restrictions aimed at protecting domestic supply and with the Strait of Hormuz mostly closed.
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