Energy News Beat | August 27, 2026 The U.S. diesel market is doing what tight commodity markets always do: it is advertising the shortage in the only language that matters — price. For the week ending August 21, EIA distillate stocks fell 2.2 million barrels, or 2.1%, to 103.4 million barrels. That is the lowest […]
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Jeff Currie, founder and CEO of Real Macro and a veteran commodities strategist formerly of Goldman Sachs and Carlyle, appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box on August 26, 2026, and cut through the usual noise. The segment title said it plainly: “The Strait of Hormuz is just one of many choke points being squeezed right now.” […]
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Diesel refining margins—known as crack spreads—have exploded to extreme levels across the three major refining hubs, signaling a tightening global middle distillate market that is only in its early stages. As of late August 2026, the US Gulf Coast ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) crack versus WTI stood near $93–94 per barrel (after briefly topping a […]
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Hedge funds have sharply reduced their short-only positions on European diesel (ICE gasoil) to the lowest level in more than two years while adding fresh long positions, signaling that traders expect the current historic fuels supply crunch to persist. According to ICE Futures Europe data cited in reports of the Bloomberg story, funds cut short-only […]
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The Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in consultation with the Department of Energy (DOE), issued a temporary emergency fuel waiver on August 20, 2026, allowing an early transition to winter-grade gasoline blends. This move aims to boost domestic supply and ease pressure on pump prices amid ongoing disruptions tied to the Iran conflict and […]
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On the morning of August 21, 2026, Ukrainian drones struck the Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez oil refinery in Russia’s Perm Krai, more than 1,500 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. Thick black smoke rose over the facility, one of Russia’s 10 largest refineries with a design capacity of around 13 million metric tons of crude per year (approximately 262,000 […]
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The ongoing conflict in Iran has triggered a profound energy crunch that extends far beyond crude oil prices. While Brent crude has retreated to around $90 per barrel from a wartime peak near $126, global shortages of refined products—diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel—have intensified. Global refinery throughput in July 2026 ran nearly 5 million barrels […]
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This is rolling out on the ENB Podcast and the Energy Impacts Podcast with David Blackmon Welcome to Rate Payers First, where we cut through the noise on America’s energy crisis. Join host David Blackmon, Stu Turley, and Frm Representative Jason Isaac as we expose the policies destroying your wallet, threatening national security, and crippling […]
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The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a surprise and historically large build in commercial crude oil inventories for the week ending August 7, 2026. Commercial stocks (excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) rose by 17.4 million barrels to 424.4 million barrels—the largest weekly increase since January 2023 and well above analyst expectations of a draw […]
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Geopolitical risks are colliding across multiple theaters in early August 2026, creating a perfect storm for energy markets. The Strait of Hormuz is flaring again, with Iranian loadings collapsing toward zero. Saudi Arabia’s Jazan refinery has been hit by Houthi drones for the second time in weeks. Ukraine continues deep strikes on Russian refining infrastructure, […]
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