Global diesel prices ease as winter approaches

It's a small breakthrough for the global oil market. The International Energy Agency reports that global oil supply has exceeded demand for the first time since the start of the Iran war. October output overtook consumption by almost two million barrels per day, as Gulf oil exports bounced back to an average of 82 percent of pre-war levels. Weakened seasonal demand and soaring prices had also curbed consumption. The result, a sharp drop in diesel prices in the last few weeks and experts warning that they will continue to fall. It's a volatile market, but if the IEA's report is roughly accurate, we're going to see a continuous drop over the coming weeks in crude prices, which will feed through to retail fuel prices. It takes about three weeks for those drops to show up at the pump. The news was warmly welcomed in the US, where diesel at the pump cost below $6 a gallon on Saturday. It marks the first major relief since the US-Israeli war on Iran, the Strait of Hormuz blockades and Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries had disrupted supplies. Average prices are projected to linger at $5.03 a gallon through 2027, though this stays well above the previously forecast $4.49. In Europe, the average diesel price fell by more than 4% in the first 12 days of November to €2.09 per litre, the lowest since early September, as diesel prices have remained above €2 per litre since the end of July.