Brent crude oil at $91.
This is significantly lower than the $120 in 2022.
But the diesel price downstairs at your house has already risen to $5.47 per gallon. Only 6% away from the historical peak.
Aren't you asking: Oil prices haven't reached historic highs, so why is diesel almost breaking records?
Because you are focusing on the wrong price.
Most people only focus on crude oil. But what truly determines the direction of inflation is another figure—the cracking spread.
What is the cracking price spread? Simply put: how much profit can a refinery make by turning a barrel of crude oil into diesel?
Last year, the average was $24.
This Monday, $102.2.
Five times the normal level.
In the past six trading days, five have set new historical records.
Before this year, this figure had never exceeded $89. There was no time during the worst period of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022.
Now, three-digit numbers.
What does $102 mean?
This means that for the same barrel of oil, the refinery's profit is five times the normal level.
Who will pay for this?
Truck drivers, farmers, couriers, heating providers—every end consumer.
Diesel is not the number you see at a gas station. Diesel is:
Every pound of vegetables delivered by truck to your table
Every grain harvested by the harvester
Every kilowatt-hour of electricity generated by factory machines is used
Every degree of warmth in your home in winter
Diesel prices are rising, not because you spend 50 yuan more on refueling. It's that everything is going up in price.
Why is this happening? The triple impact crashed down at the same time.
First: Russia. Ukrainian drones continue to attack Russian refineries, and Russia has extended its ban on diesel exports until January next year. Russia is one of the world's largest exporters of refined fuel—this pipeline has been cut.
The second layer: the Middle East. The 60-day US-Iran ceasefire agreement expires on August 17, and Trump refused to extend it. Iran has said it will adopt a full-scale offensive strategy. The Strait of Hormuz is effectively under blockade. On Monday, only six commodity ships passed through, below the 10-day average of 11, with no ultra-large tankers.
Third: refining energy. According to data from the International Energy Agency, in July, global refinery crude oil processing averaged 80.9 million barrels per day, a sharp drop of 5 million barrels per day compared to the same period last year.
There's no shortage of crude oil. What's lacking are factories that can turn crude oil into diesel.
And what about U.S. inventory? As of August 7, distillate fuel stocks, including diesel and heating oil, stood at 107.1 million barrels—the lowest for the same period since 1996.
The lowest in 30 years.
What's the scariest thing now?
The Northern Hemisphere is entering harvest season. Agricultural machinery's diesel consumption immediately surges. Then winter comes, and heating oil demand surges again. Then refineries enter seasonal maintenance, reducing capacity once more.
With triple demand combined, the supply gap will only widen.
What's even more painful is that diesel demand barely responds to prices.
If gasoline is expensive, you can drive less. Is diesel expensive? Trucks can't stop, harvesters can't stop, factories can't stop.
There is no alternative.
Back to what we have in our hands.
Once inflation expectations are ignited by diesel, U.S. Treasury yields will rise. The 10-year Treasury yield is heading toward 5%. Risk assets are under pressure.
But on the other side—
The US dollar index fell to 99.29 on Monday, a two-and-a-half-month low.
The weakening US dollar is providing bottom support for Bitcoin.
Bitcoin is now around $64,000. On one side is inflation pushing yields higher, and on the other is support from a weaker dollar.
BTC is stuck between two forces.
To be honest in the end.
Don't just look at WTI and Brent.
Crude oil prices are sentiment. Cracking the price spread is the reality.
A $91 oil price won't make your bowl of rice go up. A $102 crack spread will.
This number has already made history. The question is—will it stop here, or continue upward?
Goldman Sachs said the risk of diesel shortages before winter outweighs crude oil itself. Bank of America said the market has entered the strongest demand season with "almost no margin of error."
Winter hasn't arrived yet. The harvest season has just begun.
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