Global oil reserve wind-down sparks looming $200 fuel fill-ups

But wait, there’s more.

You’ve been living off the spare tank.

That’s because you’ve been fooled. A couple of months ago, those old tricksters at the International Energy Agency agreed to flood the market with 400m barrels of oil. That’s the largest coordinated release in its history.

The septics gave the world 172m barrels of crude from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve, or about a year of Australia’s oil consumption. That helped stop prices becoming truly frightening. And Saudi Arabia and the UAE diverted crude through bypass pipelines. Governments released emergency stocks. China sharply reduced its oil buying and some Australians bought EVs.

They are the same people who talk to animals and wait for them to answer.

But you cannot put crude in a Corolla.

So, even strategic reserves have, at some stage, to go back to being reserves. And that’s where we are now. The next trap is looking at the price of crude and believing it tells you what petrol should cost.

Motorists like you and I are refined people. We buy refined fuel. Refined fuel needs functioning refineries and reliable shipping. The good old Ukies have been blasting the shed out of Ruskie refineries. The Trumpster’s mates in Persia have been blasting Saudi’s oil pipelines.

But wait, it’s worse. Goldman Sachs (aka The Vampire Squid) says refiners are prioritising diesel over petrol. So even if the crude market settled down, which it won’t, petrol will be squeezed.

The $200 fill-up is coming.

Here’s the photo: reserves stop flowing, the Persians keep droning, China starts buying rather than selling and much higher prices force consumption down.

Economists call that demand destruction. You and I call it cancelling the weekend away.

Extracted in full from:  https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/global-oil-reserve-winddown-sparks-looming-200-fuel-fillups/news-story/1045be5806ad01a8b85f4be4edf6fcbd