The global energy supply crunch is only going to get worse as long as the conflicts in the Middle East and Eastern Europe are raging. A lot less oil is getting through the Strait of Hormuz than normal, and diesel production in Russia has been significantly diminished by relentless Ukrainian drone strikes. As a result, we have a facing an unprecedented energy squeeze. The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States has never been this high so late in the calendar year, and the average price of a gallon of diesel in the United States just set yet another all-time record.
At this stage, nobody can deny that a global energy crisis is here.
In fact, Goldman Sachs just warned that the price of oil could soon jump above $120 a barrel…
Goldman Sachs is warning that heightened attacks in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea could push global oil prices above $120 a barrel, which would add to the surging fuel costs Americans have faced during the Iran war.
The investment bank’s forecast implies a roughly 20% increase in the cost of Brent crude, the international benchmark, which is trading at nearly $100 a barrel.
For months, there have been extraordinary efforts to keep the price of oil below the psychologically important $100 a barrel mark.
But authorities will not be able to hold that line for much longer.
Already, U.S. consumers have spent an extra $100 billion on fuel since fighting with Iran erupted in February…
American consumers spent an additional $100 billion on fuel between the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28 and Sept. 8, according to a tracker from Brown University. Higher gasoline prices accounted for about $55 billion of that amount, while diesel accounted for the remaining $45 billion.
Unfortunately, fuel prices just continue to rise.
On Labor Day, the average price of a gallon of diesel in the United States reached another brand new record high…
Diesel, which is widely used in the trucking, construction, agriculture and rail sectors, reached a record $5.90 a gallon on Labor Day, AAA data shows.
It is over six dollars a gallon where I live.
In some parts of California, it is now over eight dollars a gallon.
And industry executives are telling us that global supplies of diesel will continue to be very tight for the foreseeable future…
Global diesel supply will remain tight due to a lack of spare refining capacity, Russia’s ban on exports and the approach of peak winter demand, senior industry executives said on Tuesday.
The wars in Ukraine and Iran have impacted refineries in Russia and the Middle East, pushing diesel margins to record levels in Europe and the U.S., while reducing crude supplies to Asia.
“There’s really a shortage of products because we’re missing 2 million barrels a day from Russia, and we’re missing nearly 2 million barrels a day from the Middle East,” Vitol CEO Russell Hardy told the APPEC conference on Tuesday.
If things are this bad now, what will they look like a few months from now if World War 3 continues to intensify?
On Tuesday, oil spiked after the Houthis launched a barrage of missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia…
Oil prices rose Tuesday after Iran-allied militants in Yemen attacked several energy facilities in Saudi Arabia, forcing a temporary halt to some operations.
Brent crude futures rose 1% to $97.99 a barrel by 11:28 a.m. E.T. The international benchmark hit a session high of $99.46 earlier. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures advanced 1.55% to $92.90 per barrel.
Oil prices are up more than 8% in September as the U.S. and Iran have traded military strikes for the first time since July.
We are only a little over a week into this month, and the price of oil is already up about 8 percent.
That is not a good sign at all.
The Houthis know how to hit Saudi Arabia where it hurts.
Multiple Aramco facilities were targeted, and it is being reported that fires caused “temporary shutdowns” at several of them…
Houthi militants targeted civilian and economic assets in the cities of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said. More than 70 civilians were injured in the attacks, it said.
The attacks caused fires at several energy facilities resulting in temporary shutdowns, the kingdom’s Energy Ministry said in a statement. Emergency services are working to contain fires at the sites and assess the extent of damage, the world’s largest oil exporter added.
Riyadh did not disclose what type of energy facilities were struck. Houthi state media said the group attacked Saudi Aramco facilities in southern areas with drones and ballistic missiles.
In addition to launching missiles and drones at the Saudis, the Houthis have also begun a major ground offensive in the direction of the Bab al-Mandab Strait…
The Houthis launched a broad offensive along frontlines on the western Red Sea coast in a bid to advance towards the Bab al-Mandab Strait, experts say.
The waterway forms the southern entrance to the Red Sea, a shipping artery that has become vital for Saudi oil exports during Tehran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the U.S.-Iran war.
Meanwhile, the recent fighting between the U.S. and Iran threatens to greatly escalate.
Over the weekend, the U.S. severely damaged three Iranian oil tankers…
The United States struck three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has confirmed, which it said were involved in covert oil shipment near the critical Kharg Island terminal.
Only one of the vessels was near Kharg Island. In addition to one vessel “permanently disabled” off the coast of Kharg, Centcom said it had “completely destroyed” another oil carrier near the port city of Jask, while rendering another “inoperable” in the Gulf of Oman “after the crew was directed to abandon ship.”
Exports of Iranian oil have essentially dropped to zero, and the Iranian economy is being strangled to death by the U.S. naval blockade.
Authorities in Iran are deeply frustrated, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is pledging that the U.S. will soon be “brought to complete regret”…
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed continued resistance against the U.S. on Tuesday, writing on X that the U.S. will “regret” the war.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always opposed war and has considered the preservation of the people’s interests and regional security to lie in refraining from igniting conflict,” Pezeshkian wrote.
“However, just as it has boldly risen to defend against aggression up to this day, it will continue this resistance with full strength until the aggressors are brought to complete regret and will remain the guardian of the rights of the great Iranian nation,” he added.
Many consider such threats to be quite empty.
But the Iranians do appear to have freshly upgraded ballistic missiles, and they are threatening to use them to conduct preemptive strikes…
Iran has issued a fresh threat to the US over its newly upgraded ballistic missile, with officials warning that the nation “will take action against any threat, even before it is carried out.”
The report by Iran’s state news agency on Monday highlighted comments broadcast on state television the previous day by the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei.
He praised the country’s expanded arsenal and claimed a new missile had been “tested” against a US warship. However, it was unconfirmed whether the test involved the solid-fueled Qassem Basir featured in the new report.
There is speculation that Iran’s freshly upgraded ballistic missiles could potentially be a serious threat to our warships.
Needless to say, the sinking of even a single U.S. warship would change everything.
But President Trump continues to be optimistic.
On Monday, he assured us that the price of oil will quickly fall below two dollars a gallon “when we WIN the war with Iran”…
President Trump on Monday said oil prices “will drop precipitously” after the Iran war is won, as Iran seeks to maintain its control of the Strait of Hormuz with a “restricted zone.”
“Oil prices will drop precipitously, like everything else is dropping (but more!), when we WIN the war with Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Three Dollars a gallon, but ultimately, below Two Dollars a gallon. It will all happen quickly, and Iran will never have a Nuclear Weapon.”
In Ukraine, the Russians have resumed hitting Ukrainian cities with a vengeance…
At least five people were killed in Kyiv after Russia launched what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called a “complex” attack on the city, with Moscow resuming long-range strikes on the Ukrainian capital following a three-day pause to allow the visit of a U.S. peace talks delegation.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 166 drones, 32 cruise missiles and an unspecified number of anti-ship and ballistic missiles into the country overnight. The air force said its forces downed 142 drones, 31 cruise missiles and two ballistic missiles.
The Russians are hoping that greatly escalating the intensity of strikes will convince the Ukrainians to stop hitting their refineries.
It isn’t going to work.
But sides are just going to continue to pummel one another, and that isn’t going to be good news for any of us.
In addition to repeatedly targeting Kyiv, the Russians also hit the city of Odessa really hard…
Kyiv and the southern port city of Odessa were the main targets, the air force reported. Missiles and drones impacted across 29 locations, it added in a post to Telegram.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a post to Telegram that the “massive strike” targeted defense industrial facilities and military transport and logistical hubs, plus port facilities in Odesa. The ministry also posted a graphic showing what appeared to be cruise missiles, with the caption, “Targeting day and night.”
Unless the war between Russia and Ukraine ends, the diesel supply crunch will continue to escalate.
And as long as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is only a fraction of what it was before the war with Iran, there will be upward pressure on the price of oil.
The higher energy prices go, the worse things will get for the entire global economy.
The clouds on the horizon are getting really dark, and at this point everyone can see that a major storm is rapidly approaching.
Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing. You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter. Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.
