Hurricane Isaias threatens nearly 500,000 barrels a day of US oil-refining capacity, raising risks for a fuel market already operating with no supplies to spare. Along with the potential human toll, damage to fuel-making facilities would threaten to push up pump prices across the country. Nationally, gasoline prices averaged $4.36 a gallon as of Wednesday, according to AAA, while diesel prices set an all-time record in September and were at about $6.28 a gallon.
Isaias is currently gathering strength and expected to make landfall along the northern Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday, with Alabama, Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle at risk. The storm has already prompted offshore producers to shut in more than 60% of crude output at a time when oil markets are under pressure from the war in Iran. Fuel markets are even more vulnerable to potential price spikes amid limited US inventories for gasoline and diesel.
Supplies have been tight even with refiners running hard, so that means even small production losses tied to Isaias could create sharp price jumps for consumers at the pump. The article lists facilities at risk as the storm progresses toward the Gulf Coast.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing