Bloomberg Surveillance · Tuesday, July 21, 2026
Geopolitical events in the Middle East and Ukraine are significantly impacting global petroleum product markets, with diesel and gasoline prices showing considerable strength. Francisco Blanch of Bank of America warns of a thinning cushion in the market, suggesting a shift towards 'spike key behavior' if tensions escalate.
“It's a thinning cushion, John, And I'm increasingly worried that these tensions could eventually turn what's been relatively orderly market where prices have moved in a linear fashion more or less, and we end up being pushed into a nonlinear event, meaning that rather than just steady movements, we started to see spike key behavior.”
“And in fact, I think crude oil doesn't really tell the full story. The full story is being told by diesel, is being told by gasoline prices. I mean, you see crude oil at ninety, but look at diesels training one hundred and fifty plus oars a barrel, gasoline approaching fifty one hundred and fifty doors of barrel.”
“We have a true petroleum product showfall here, and even natural gas not in the US, but globally starting to trend higher again with prices hitting sixty euros and mego at hour.”