WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Monday said Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries, along with refinery closures in the United States, were driving up oil prices, arguing that the Strait of Hormuz was no longer the main factor behind higher fuel costs.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said record volumes of oil were now flowing through the Strait of Hormuz. He pointed to disruptions at refineries, saying Russian facilities were being hit by Ukraine.
“What’s driving up Gasoline is no longer the Strait of Hormuz, because Record Numbers of Barrels are coming out now on an almost daily basis, but the word, ‘Refineries,’ where Russia’s are being blown up by Ukraine,” Trump said.
Trump also blamed what he said was the closing of oil refineries in states run by rival Democrats.
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Meanwhile, industry executives at a conference in London said that shipping bottlenecks, deep cuts in refinery output and inventory draws that could take years to replace will keep global oil prices high beyond this year, Reuters reported.
“I think it is going to be bedlam for the bulk of the end of the year and maybe 2027,” Petronas CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik said.
Oil prices edged lower as rising Middle East crude exports and a release of oil stocks by the Group of Seven nations boosted supplies, offsetting concerns about further damage to oil infrastructure, Reuters reported.
Brent crude futures fell 66 cents, or 0.65 percent, to $101.59 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $90.12 a barrel, down 95 cents, or 1.03 percent.
Brent gave up most of its gains last week while WTI was 1.6 percent lower after G7 countries agreed on Friday to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude from emergency reserves and pledged to refrain from energy export restrictions.
Middle Eastern crude oil exports have risen above their pre-war level for the first time since the United States and Israel launched military operations against Iran on February 28, despite shipping disruption around the Strait of Hormuz.
The increase indicates that regional oil producers and shippers have adapted significantly to disruptions caused by the conflict, using alternative export routes and logistical arrangements to maintain shipments.
Ship-tracking data from Kpler showed crude exports from the region exceeded the pre-war benchmark on September 24 and on September 27, 28 and 29, reaching between 19.5 million and 22.5 million barrels per day. The pre-war average was about 18 million barrels per day.
The seven-day moving average had reached 18.5 million barrels per day by October 1, according to the latest data.
The data also indicate that the oil trade has not simply returned to its pre-war pattern. Producers have rebuilt export flows through a combination of Hormuz transits, alternative terminals, pipelines and ship-to-ship transfers.
Kpler said that in September about 60 per cent of non-Iranian Gulf crude physically crossed Hormuz, while 23 per cent was loaded outside the strait and another 17 per cent moved through the Red Sea.
