Diesel Fuel Tops $6/gal Reaching an All Time High

 At our local Kwik Trip yesterday, we saw the green numbers advertising the price of diesel fuel and it read $6.29 per gallon.

I think most of us realize that every item in that Kwik Trip was delivered by a big truck burning diesel fuel.

Go across the street to Menards and every piece of lumber, every light fixture, every gallon of paint and every other item in the entire store was delivered by a big truck burning diesel fuel.

If you want to understand one reason prices have gone up on everything, look no further than the green numbers at your local gas station.

Also note that this price is the highest it’s EVER been.

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The nationwide average price of diesel hit $6 per gallon Friday for the first time, an ominous record for the fuel that powers much of the U.S. economy. 

The price was $6.05 as of Friday morning, according to data from motor club AAA. The national average price of regular gas was $4.29, up 15 cents since last week.

“From running a farm ... [to the] cost of food, but also everything across the economy that’s shipped,” she said. When diesel prices rise, everything “gets that extra fee tacked onto it.” 

Swonk predicted that the high cost of diesel will be an “inflationary problem” for months to come.

Since late July, diesel prices have been rising higher and faster overall than the cost of regular unleaded gas. 

That’s because key refineries that produce it have been knocked offline or destroyed, both in Eastern Europe — where the Ukraine-Russia war still rages — and in the Middle East. 

And while all forms of fossil fuels this year have been affected by the blockade of the Strait of the Hormuz, diesel differs somewhat from crude and unleaded gas because of the central role Russian refineries play in the global supply.

Russia typically exports more diesel than any other country, save for the U.S. But damage to its refineries from Ukrainian drones forced the Kremlin to impose a sweeping diesel export ban in July that will remain at least through the end of September.

“Consumers should be prepared to pay higher inflation for anything that requires being shipped,” Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at the RSM management consulting firm, told NBC News.

‘Economic carnage’

Groceries are likely to be especially sensitive to higher diesel prices, Brusuelas said, in part because many supermarkets are already operating on razor-thin margins owing to the high cost of beef.

Beyond the supermarket, however, grocery prices will also reflect the rising cost of diesel across the entire food supply chain, starting with farmers. 

The impact of $6-per-gallon diesel will make it even harder for some U.S. farmers, already under pressure this year from a fertilizer shortage, to stay afloat.

“It’ll push me right to the edge,” said Mark Mueller, a fourth-generation Iowa farmer. “If I don’t get pushed over the edge by diesel fuel prices, higher fertilizer prices will push me over the edge because a lot of petroleum goes into fertilizer prices, as well.” 

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/energy/diesel-record-price-trump-inflation-rcna596843