2026-04-03 07:40:00
EUROPEAN DIESEL SHOCK
BLOOMBERG - April 2, 2026 - Crude oil crisscrossing the $100-a-barrel mark might be what grabs headlines, but for Europe’s most important petroleum product, prices have now passed an eye-watering $200.
That’s the price of the region’s benchmark diesel futures, known as ICE Gasoil, which rose as high as $1,509.50 a ton earlier today, the equivalent of $202.3 a barrel.
It’s the highest the marker’s been since 2022, the year that Russia — then Europe’s top external diesel supplier — began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Whether prices drop back or keep rising largely depends on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. In normal times, millions of barrels a day of refined fuels — including diesel — flow through the waterway that connects energy infrastructure inside the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world.
With shipments still largely halted, there’s an enormous squeeze on supplies, which is being exacerbated by some refiners cutting production because of a lack of crude oil from the Middle East.
For Europe, which relies on imports of diesel, that’s a big problem. The region consumes more than 6 million barrels a day of the fuel, which powers everything from trucks to ships to construction equipment.
So with prices soaring and some gas stations already running dry, you might think traders would be directing every available cargo of fuel toward the continent at full speed.
But that is not what’s been happening.
Take, for example, the STI Solace. This oil tanker recently loaded diesel in waters off the coast of the UK. But instead of delivering the fuel to a European port, it’s taking the cargo about as far away as it’s possible to go: more than 12,000 miles to Australia.
Other diesel-hauling tankers that were heading across the Atlantic toward Europe have meanwhile turned away, veering southeast toward Africa.
These ships started to move away from Europe in March — well before the latest price jumps. Today’s move through $200 a barrel looks like the market is waking up to a harsh truth: The Iran war is creating a global scramble for barrels.
And if Europe wants to outbid other buyers, it’s going to have to pay up.
-----
Earlier:
2026, March, 27, 07:55:00
EUROPE NEED GAS
The European Union’s energy chief told member states last week to start injecting into gas storage early in order to avoid supply competition that could push prices up over summer.
2026, March, 23, 07:45:00
EUROPEAN GAS PRICES UP AGAIN
Dutch front-month futures, Europe’s gas benchmark, traded 4.7% higher at €62.02 a megawatt-hour by 8:33 a.m. in Amsterdam.
2026, March, 20, 07:55:00
EUROPEAN GAS PRICES UP
Benchmark futures jumped as much as 35% on Thursday, pushing prices to more than double their pre-war levels, as the market braces for a drawn out halt at the critical LNG hub that provides about a fifth of the world’s supply.
2026, March, 10, 07:45:00
EUROPEAN GAS PRICES DOWN
Dutch front-month futures, Europe’s gas benchmark, traded 15% lower at €47.99 a megawatt-hour by 8:41 a.m. in Amsterdam.
2026, March, 3, 07:40:00
EUROPEAN GAS PRICES UP
Benchmark futures jumped as much as 25% — the biggest increase since August 2023 — after tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz largely halted over the weekend.
2026, February, 18, 07:45:00
EUROPE REDUCE EMISSIONS BY 90%
The European Climate Law already establishes climate neutrality by 2050 and a 55% net GHG reduction by 2030 (vs. 1990) as legally binding obligations for all member states.
2025, August, 5, 06:45:00
EUROPEAN BAN OF RUSSIAN GAS: ROADBLOCK
While strengthening oversight over Russian gas imports, the Proposal’s transparency and traceability measures place a significant burden on importers and other stakeholders, while risking regulatory overreach – particularly if over-zealously implemented – thus potentially increasing costs and preventing legitimate gas imports from entering the EU.
2025, May, 13, 06:40:00
EUROPE WITHOUT RUSSIAN ENERGY
"Despite the significant progress achieved under the REPowerEU Plan and via sanctions since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in 2024 the EU saw a rebound in Russian gas imports," the EC said. "More coordinated actions are therefore needed, as the EU's overdependency on Russian energy imports is a security threat."