Coronavirus may bug diesel may after gasoline, jet fuel price crash

The world over, one mainstream fuel — diesel — has managed to remain a decent profit center for the oil refining industry at large as the novel coronavirus ravages economies and their wider demand for petroleum products.

Diesel has risen in value relative to crude in recent weeks due to a combination of continued industrial usage and purchasing of a near-identical fuel for stockpiling as a heating oil in Europe. In addition, there have been curbs in refining to minimize a glut of products like gasoline and jet fuel.

But diesel’s star is starting to fade, with its premium to crude oil recently dropping in trading hubs around the world.