A busy Atlantic hurricane season and tight fuel supplies could further strain U.S. refiners who already have the lowest oil-processing capacity in eight years, analysts warned, adding this would boost prices for gasoline and diesel. In recent years, hurricanes temporarily knocked out processing capacity along the U.S. Gulf Coast, home to 47% of the nation’s motor fuel production. When the pandemic slashed demand for fuel, U.S. refiners closed five facilities, while another plant suffered catastrophic storm damage. Those closings sapped U.S. fuel inventories, and now demand is surging again. Gasoline stocks are down 8% amid forecasts for an above-normal number of storms for the seventh consecutive year. read more “We are heading into hurricane season in the tightest refining market we’ve ever been in on a global scale,” said Rory Johnston, founder of the Commodity Context newsletter. A storm was brewing this week […]