Exxon, Chevron Warn Fuel Prices to Endure as War Knocks Refining

ExxonMobil and Chevron have warned that high fuel prices are likely to persist even if crude oil prices fall, due to critical global refining capacity shortages caused by ongoing conflicts in Russia and the Middle East. Nearly 10% of the world's refining capability is effectively offline, leading to record-high fuel-making margins for refiners but increased costs for consumers. This bottleneck, particularly affecting middle distillates like diesel and jet fuel, is expected to continue impacting prices into the third quarter and beyond, with current refinery utilization rates at near maximum capacity.