Global Fuel Prices Are Surging With Supply Risks Ahead
- US pump prices 60% higher than 2020, when Biden was elected
- Global oil demand and refinery runs are both forecast to rise
US gasoline futures have jumped sharply in recent weeks and are now up by more than a fifth so far this year, while diesel in Europe has risen 10%.
Photographer: Moriah Ratner/BloombergDisruptions on the world’s major trade routes, refinery closures and resurgent demand are pushing up global fuel prices and making forecasts difficult in the run-up to a US presidential election in which inflation will be a key issue.
Increases in the two most-consumed fuels are outpacing those for crude oil in some of the world’s most important markets. US gasoline futures have jumped sharply in recent weeks — thanks, in part, to the summer specification switch, and are now up by more than a fifth so far this year, while diesel in Europe has risen 10%. Refiner profits are also above seasonal norms in many regions, a sign of tightness as the summer travel period approaches.