U.S. Diesel Exports Surge to Record

The U.S. has shipped a record amount of distillate fuel overseas, with exports rising to 1.9 million barrels a day last week, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. This surge in exports has been driven by the global scramble for diesel, which has been exacerbated by the U.S.-Iran war and Russian refinery disruptions. As a result, U.S. distillate inventories have fallen to their lowest seasonal level since 1996, raising concerns about a potential market crunch as the fall approaches. The majority of these exports have gone to northwestern Europe, which is seen as the “epicenter” of the global diesel crunch due to its exposure to refinery outages in the Middle East and Russia. With refiners producing diesel at full capacity, the country’s fuel supplies are being drawn down, prompting questions about the potential for a market crunch as the heating season begins.