Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news
Europe faces a squeeze on its diesel supply this year, according to analysts at the bank Morgan Stanley, with stockpiles expected to decline over the coming months.
Analysts including Martijn Rats wrote in a note yesterday:
The picture is genuinely tight. Our supply/demand modeling points toward European diesel inventories falling to multi-year lows toward year-end.
…The real bottleneck in the oil system right now is refining, more so than crude…The epicenter of all this is the diesel market, and Europe in particular.
Three US service members were killed in separate incidents in Jordan and Iraq, while US strikes hit targets including Qeshm Island and multiple locations in southern Iran. At the same time, Iran broadened its retaliation beyond military sites, targeting critical infrastructure across the Gulf, including power and desalination facilities in Kuwait, as well as launching drone and missile attacks towards US bases and regional allies. And prospects for any diplomatic breakthrough remained dim, with Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi suggesting that some nuclear issues may ‘remain unresolvable’.
Tensions also escalated further in the strait of Hormuz, with Iran signalling a far more assertive stance over shipping flows and claiming to have intercepted vessels attempting to transit the waterway.
Continue reading...
