Hormuz Crude Flows Improve but Diesel Shortage Lingers
The Strait of Hormuz is seeing a partial recovery in crude oil shipments, reaching about three-quarters of pre-war levels. As of Saturday, the seven-day average for crude oil cargoes passing through the strait hit 10.3 million barrels per day, or 76% of pre-war volumes, according to data from Kpler cited by the Wall Street Journal.
However, shipments of refined products like diesel remain significantly lower. These shipments stood at 1.3 million barrels per day, making up just 11% of total oil flows through the strait. Before the conflict, refined products typically accounted for over 20% of the cargoes passing through Hormuz.
The shortage of refined fuels is being exacerbated by refinery shutdowns across Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Iraq, and other regions due to missile strikes and war-related disruptions. This has led to constrained supplies of diesel and other refined fuels, even as crude oil shipments recover.
In the United States, the national average price of diesel reached a record high of $6.53 a gallon late last month, with California prices climbing to an even higher record of $8.44 a gallon. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration is exploring measures to alleviate the fuel price surge as the refined product shortage persists.