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The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and Russia's decision in early July to halt all its diesel exports are disrupting the global market for the fuel.
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No relief for drivers is in sight. As summer draws to a close, prices at the pump have continued to rise, especially for diesel fuel. According to figures published by French petroleum industry union UFIP on Monday, August 24, the average price per liter of diesel was €2.23 during the week of August 17, a weekly increase of over €0.03, while SP95 unleaded gasoline hovered just above €2.
Each day, fuel prices edge closer to the levels reached at the height of the Middle East crisis in the spring, when diesel reached €2.31 per liter in early April. In early July, the price of diesel had fallen back to €1.86, following the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran. In the meantime, as the conflict flared up again, the price jumped by €0.37.
The surge has been fueled by renewed tension that has again disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital passageway for crude oil and refined products that are crucial for global traffic, such as diesel and jet fuel. Brent crude, the global benchmark, which had briefly fallen below $70 (about €60) per barrel, now hovers around $93. Prices for refined products are rising even faster. On the wholesale market in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, a metric ton of diesel now costs more than $1,250 – a rise of more than 45% since the ceasefire and 70% since the war began six months ago.
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