Diesel price rises due to tight market

The conflict between the US and Iran is flaring up again, putting upward pressure on fuel prices. The diesel market is also facing an extension of the Russian export ban. The gas price has reached its highest level since early 2023. At the time of writing, Tuesday afternoon 1 September, the price of oil is $92.02 per barrel. That is almost 5% more than last Wednesday. On Sunday, the US carried out a strike on Iran again for the first time in a month. That country has in turn attacked an American base in Jordan in retaliation. The diplomatic process has also stalled. That is causing unease in the market. The diesel price is also rising again. On 1 September, €183.05 must be paid for 100 liters of diesel (from 4,000 liters) (LTO members' price). That is 4% more than before the weekend. The supply of crude oil from the Middle East via the Strait of Hormuz has been under pressure for some time, and now there is also fear of a new escalation of the conflict. The tightness in the diesel market has also increased further in recent weeks due to Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries. Russia has now extended its export ban on diesel until 30 September. Several refineries have been taken out of operation after Ukrainian drone attacks. Russia is normally the world's largest diesel exporter after the US. The loss of Russian diesel is being strongly felt, among others, by countries around the Mediterranean. They now have to compete for alternative supply from, among others, the US and India. The American diesel market has also tightened further in recent weeks. The most recent figures from the EIA show that inventories of distillates, including diesel, fell by 6.5% in four weeks to 103.4 million barrels. In the latest reporting week alone, inventories shrank by more than 2.2 million barrels. In the US, prices are also rising, at the worst possible moment for farmers preparing for the autumn harvest, writes AG Web. On 28 August, the price was $5.61 per gallon, almost $2.00 more than last year and close to the record of $5.82 from June 2022. Converted, the current price of €1.28 per liter is still a lot lower than what Dutch agricultural entrepreneurs pay. Gas price The gas price on the TTF today reached its highest point since 10 January 2023: €71.73 per megawatt hour. End of net metering scheme gets closer The end of the Dutch net metering scheme is getting closer quickly. From 1 January 2027, solar power can no longer be offset against electricity consumed. Energy suppliers are preparing their contracts for this. The Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) is critical of the way feed-in costs are calculated after 2027 and wants energy suppliers to be required to charge these per kWh fed back into the grid. Over the past week, the lowest average day price on the EPEX Spot was €75 per megawatt hour on 30 August and the highest was €147.98 per MWh on 1 September.