The US has diesel fuel for only 25 days. The lowest level in 15 years
The crisis gripping the US automotive diesel market is getting out of hand: demand is increasing as inventories remain at their lowest ever seasonal level for this time of year, according to government data released Wednesday. all of this has a heavy impact on retail costs, as the logistics are based on diesel.
According to the EIA, the United States only has 25 days of diesel fuel stocks, the lowest since 2008; and while inventories are at an all-time low, the four-week moving average of spirits supplied – an indicator of demand – has risen to its highest seasonal level since 2007.
In short, an extremely low supply, even due to stifling regulations limiting refining capacity, meets record demand. What comes next is, well, bad (even though weekly demand has dropped slightly over the past week, it's still at its highest point in the past two years, thanks to the increase in the use of trucks, agriculture and heating).
The shortage of fuel used for heating, trucking and, in general, to run trade and goods has become a major concern of the Biden administration ahead of winter, perhaps even greater than the price of gas. ahead of the mid-term elections (well, not really). As Bloomberg's Javier Blas writes, “Such low levels are alarming because diesel is the workhorse of the global economy. Power trucks and vans, excavators, freight trains and ships. A shortage would mean an increase in costs for everything related to transport, agriculture and construction ”.
National Economic Council director Brian Deese told Bloomberg TV Wednesday that diesel stocks are "unacceptably low" and that "all options are on the table" to increase supplies and reduce retail prices.
While the White House says it is very concerned about the impending diesel crisis, it is doing absolutely nothing to address it, especially from the perspective of improving supply situations, and is merely draining oil and diesel reserves in the stores.
The historic diesel crisis comes within weeks of midterm elections and will almost certainly drive prices up for consumers who already see inflation and the economy as one of the top voting topics. Retail prices have been rising steadily for more than two weeks and the recent release of strategic reserves is unlikely to do any good.
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The article The US has diesel fuel for only 25 days. The lowest level for 15 years comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/gli-usa-hanno-gasolio-diesel-per-soli-25-giorni-il-livello-piu-basso-da-15-anni/ on Thu, 20 Oct 2022 07:47:03 +0000.