Jeff Currie, senior commodities strategist, says there is a very high
probability U.S. retail gasoline averages reach $5/gal before the Nov. 3 midterm
elections as product shortages have begun to spread upstream into crude. He
warns refiners’ switching between diesel and gasoline output is draining
operational flexibility and that strategic petroleum reserve releases that
helped cover gaps show no sign of being replenished. Currie cautions U.S. diesel
could rise to $7–9/gal and that the market is entering a dangerous, more
structural phase as shortages synchronize across the energy complex.
