What Is Driving Diesel Prices Up? Energy Chaos Caused By Two Wars

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Diesel prices are surging as wars in Iran and Ukraine disrupt fuel supplies. Analysts explain why the Iran war is the bigger driver of rising costs.

President Trump recently blamed surging diesel prices on Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries. But energy experts say that while he is partly right, the war in Iran has been a more important driver of energy prices.

The average price of a gallon of diesel in the United States has been setting records in recent days, topping $6 a gallon on Friday and climbing to $6.23 by Monday morning, up about 65 percent since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28.

The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline, $4.31 on Monday, has also risen sharply since the start of the Iran war, by about 45 percent. And the global price of oil, the raw material for diesel, gasoline and other fuels, is up roughly 50 percent.

“We have basically two wars involving two of the world’s largest energy producers,” said Helima Croft, an energy analyst at RBC Capital Markets. “The Middle East is the most prolific energy production zone, and then you add Russia into this.”

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What Is Driving Diesel Prices Up? Energy Chaos Caused By Two Wars

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