What is the oil shortage, the United States is imminent diesel crisis: the supply is only enough to last 25 days

With the heating season upon us, the lack of diesel could make many Americans more sad this winter than in Europe
.

According to data released by the EIA on Wednesday, October 19, the crisis in the US diesel market is spiraling out of control
as demand surges while supply remains at its lowest seasonal level.

The U.
S.
now has only 25 days of diesel supply, the lowest since 2008, but demand rose to its highest seasonal level
since 2007.
Fuel shortages for heating, trucking, and keeping commercial and freight running have become a major concern
for the Biden administration heading into the winter.

The main reasons for the collapse of diesel inventories and soaring prices in the United States are: after the pandemic, US diesel demand recovered faster than gasoline and jet fuel, resulting in inventory depletion; Foreign demand is also strong, and US diesel exports are at an unusually high level; On top of that, the U.
S.
is also having lower refining capacity than before, reducing its ability to
make fuel.

Energy analyst Javier Blas believes:

National Economic Council Director Brian Deese said Wednesday that diesel inventories were "unacceptably low" and that "all options to increase supply and lower retail prices are currently on the table.
"

Despite the White House's claims to be very worried about the coming diesel crisis, the White House has done
nothing but consume crude oil from strategic reserves that have no impact on diesel production.
Market fears that the current very serious diesel supply-demand imbalance occurring in the weeks leading up to the midterm elections will almost certainly raise concerns among consumers who already see inflation and the economy as top concerns
.
The retail price of diesel in the U.
S.
has been steadily climbing for more than two weeks
over the past two weeks.
According to AAA data, the current price of $5.
324 per gallon for U.
S.
diesel is 50%
higher than the same period last year.

Wholesale diesel prices in the New York Harbor spot market are a key pricing point, having surged above
$200 a barrel this week.
Excluding the brief market anomalies of April and May this year, this price is an all-time high
.

Meanwhile, U.
S.
refineries are enjoying their best diesel margins ever, with profits from converting a barrel of crude oil into diesel hitting an all-time high of $86.
50 a barrel, up about 450 percent
from a year earlier.
In 2000-2020, this profit averaged $
15.
7 per barrel.

Is it too late to save the diesel crisis?

For US financial blog Zero Hedge, it's too late
.
U.
S.
diesel stocks have been depleted
as refineries enter the maintenance season and geopolitical conflicts tighten global supplies and impose import restrictions.
At the same time, spot premiums — where the price of spot delivery is higher than the price of future deliveries — make it extremely expensive to build inventory, leading to a vicious cycle
of tight supply and soaring prices.
In New England, more people rely on diesel for heating in winter than anywhere else in the United States, but diesel stocks are less than a third
of the average for this time of year.

There is no doubt that a new energy crisis is brewing in the United States
.
The U.
S.
typically takes advantage of the low-demand seasons of spring and summer to rebuild its diesel stocks
ahead of winter.
But the U.
S.
has failed to do so this year — even Europe has struggled to store gas to cope with the coming bitter cold — but U.
S.
diesel stocks are now almost as low as
they were at the end of the heating season in April.