
The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve has fallen to approximately 293 million barrels, the lowest level since 1982. Trump is releasing 172 million barrels—nearly identical to Biden’s 180 million in 2022—but starting from a lower base due to incomplete replenishment of reserves. Meanwhile, the diesel crack spread (the margin a refiner earns by turning one barrel of crude into diesel) has surpassed $100, a historical high. In this context, crude withdrawals from the SPR have limited impact: the real bottleneck is refining capacity. How much longer can this imbalance last?
