The debate over a diesel export ban is giving Europe whiplash

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Published26 SEP 26 - 11:53 Reading time minutes

“If you end the crisis now in both Russia and the Middle East, which doesn’t look good, you don’t just snap your fingers and fix this destruction to export infrastructure, to refining infrastructure. Things are going to get worse in terms of supply of diesel from here and that effect on the economy will only continue.”
— James Noel-Beswick, Head of Commodities at Sparta.

Expert: James Noel-Beswick (Head of Commodities, Sparta)
Publication: Reuters
Market Focus: Diesel, Refining Margins, Crude Oil, Distillates
Geographies: Europe, US, Middle East, Russia

In a recent analysis for the Wall Street Journal, Sparta’s Head of Commodities, James Noel-Beswick, warns that Europe’s diesel crunch won’t ease even if the wars driving it end. The EU’s reliance on US diesel jumped from roughly a quarter to more than 60% of imports in a single month in August, after Houthi attacks knocked a key Saudi supplier offline. Noel-Beswick points out that the refining and export infrastructure damaged in Russia and the Middle East can’t be repaired quickly, meaning global diesel supply is likely to tighten further regardless of how the conflicts resolve. Traders should watch how the White House’s export ban debate develops, and monitor Rotterdam diesel pricing and refinery maintenance schedules in the US and Europe for the next leg of this move.

[Read June Goh’s full commentary in Wall Street Journal]

Topics Distillate

Author

James Noel-Beswick

Head of Commodities

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