Iran isn’t the only conflict vexing the global oil market

THE supposed end of the Iran war has solved one oil problem. The price of crude has fallen to below US$75 a barrel, roughly where it was before the conflict began in February.

But the almost simultaneous escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war in recent weeks is creating another – and less discussed – oil headache: The price of refined petroleum products remain as high as if crude oil was still changing hands above US$100 a barrel.

Although Wall Street tracks the price of oil, particularly the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark, what matters for Main Street is not the cost of unrefined crude, but the price of fuels such as petrol, diesel and jet fuel that we use to run cars, trucks and airplanes.