Fuel Squeeze in China Drives Crude Toward $100: Energy Markets
This article is for subscribers only.
China’s drive to curb energy use is exacerbating a shortage of diesel, sending refining profits to the highest level in almost two years and raising the likelihood oil will trade at $100 a barrel in coming months.
The return from processing Dubai crude into diesel, or gasoil, climbed above $14 a barrel in Singapore today to the highest level since January 2008, after service stations ran dry in China’s eastern and southern coastal provinces, according to prices from PVM Oil Associates, a London-based brokerage. The margin from turning Brent into gasoil in Europe rose 15 percent since Nov. 5, prices on the ICE Futures Europe exchange show.