Pakistan · World · Independent Digital Newsroom
The average price for a gallon (3.79 litres) is $4.36, up from $4.14 a month ago and up from $2.98 on February 28, when the US and Israel first struck Iran, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA), which tracks daily petrol prices.“The ongoing conflicts with Iran and Russia’s war with Ukraine are reinforcing each other, impairing oil product markets, but Middle Eastern flows are far from normal,” Rachel Ziemba,….
Meanwhile, the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve hits its lowest level since 1982.“US tells some [European Union] members to release ‘strategic reserves’ or face a potential US diesel export ban, pushing France and Germany to do so, oil prices, along with gasoline and diesel futures strongly lower as a result,” Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in a post on X.Ukraine’s attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure have also….
On Sunday, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence claimed that it has disabled more than half of Russia’s oil refining capacity.“The damage to Russia’s refineries – and risk of more US sanctions on those who process Russian oil – are exacerbating the situation, but the underlying issue is still the volatile flows from the Middle East, the greater difficulty getting oil products out and the lower buffers in place,” Ziemba added.The latest….
In June, Russian refinery throughput hit its lowest level in two decades, according to an analysis by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The analysis also found that diesel production has fallen 30 percent over the past 18 months.Trump has also blamed price increases on refining cuts in Democratic-led states such as California, where two refineries have shut down over the past year.
The closures reduced the state’s refining capacity by 17 percent, creating some supply gaps, according to an analysis by S&P Global.However, Trump’s effort to shift blame to Democrats comes ahead of consequential midterm elections that could shape the balance of power in Washington.
At the same time, most Americans appear to blame Trump for rising prices.
A recent AP-NORC poll found that 65 percent of Americans blamed Trump’s policies for higher prices, while 61 percent said the US economy is worse off than when Trump returned to office.
Trump shifts blame for fuel price hikes to blue states like California and Ukraine strikes on Russian oil refineries.
