Refining Bottleneck Sends Diesel to Record High

• Gas and diesel prices are surging, with Americans paying nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars more today compared to a year ago.
• The primary issue is a refining bottleneck, not just crude oil supply, with Russian refinery attacks impacting diesel and global refining capacity remaining constrained.
• US refineries are operating at 98% capacity, the highest rates since 1999, indicating minimal flexibility to increase output or easily shift production between gasoline and diesel.

Gas and diesel prices are jumping due to a complex refining bottleneck, exacerbated by attacks on Russian refineries and limited global capacity. US refineries are operating at near-record utilization, leaving little room to boost supply. Simply increasing crude oil production won't solve the problem without addressing these refining constraints.