Gasoline Rises to Eight-Week High
US gasoline futures rose above $3.45 a gallon, rising to an eight-week high, amid a tightening outlook for energy supply from the Middle East. Attacks last week by Iran-backed Houthi rebels shut down a crucial crude pipeline in Saudi Arabia that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz, which remains under blockade. Since the start of the US-Iran war, the crack spread has surged from the teens to above $60, reflecting demand for refined products outpacing refiners’ ability to produce them. Refiners had long warned about the impact of depleting crude reserves, and although operating near full capacity, delays to non-essential work have compounded the maintenance backlog ahead of seasonal fall maintenance, posing an ongoing threat to refined-product supplies. While UK authorities fear the pipeline could remain shut for as much as six weeks, US Energy Secretary Wright told reporters that it would reopen "very soon".
45 a gallon, rising to an eight-week high, amid a tightening outlook for energy supply from the Middle East. Attacks last week by Iran-backed Houthi rebels shut down a crucial crude pipeline in Saudi Arabia that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz, which remains under blockade. Since the start of the US-Iran war, the crack spread has surged from the teens to above $60, reflecting demand for refined products outpacing refiners’ ability to produce them.
Refiners had long warned about the impact of depleting crude reserves, and although operating near full capacity, delays to non-essential work have compounded the maintenance backlog ahead of seasonal fall maintenance, posing an ongoing threat to refined-product supplies. While UK authorities fear the pipeline could remain shut for as much as six weeks, US Energy Secretary Wright told reporters that it would reopen "very soon".