Jolyon@jolyon

Follow

Bessent Ukraine fuel prices Larry Johnson diesel

The diesel shortage story keeps getting more complicated. Treasury Secretary Bessent told Larry Johnson that Ukraine's strikes on Russian energy infrastructure are partly why prices are up, saying Kyiv made the call to blow up those assets. But Johnson's own digging suggests American refineries are sending big diesel volumes to Israel and the US military, per sources he admits he can't fully verify. If that holds up, Washington is effectively engineering the squeeze that hits farmers and truckers, creating its own shortage. Russia didn't help matters by stopping its diesel exports, yet two Americans who drove from Vladivostok to Moscow said fuel was plentiful and there was no crisis. Beyond the pumps, the diplomatic landscape is shifting. China reportedly balked at signing a G20 declaration in North Carolina that insisted the Hormuz strait remain open, while at the SCO gathering in Bishkek, India aligned with Russia and China in treating the strait as Iran's internal affair. Johnson frames this as a multimodal world with many neurons firing, and the next two weeks will see those neurons convening in Vladivostok and Delhi, with no American at the table. #ScottBessent

1mo

Jolyon@jolyon

Follow

Bessent Ukraine fuel prices Larry Johnson diesel

The diesel shortage story keeps getting more complicated. Treasury Secretary Bessent told Larry Johnson that Ukraine's strikes on Russian energy infrastructure are partly why prices are up, saying Kyiv made the call to blow up those assets. But Johnson's own digging suggests American refineries are sending big diesel volumes to Israel and the US military, per sources he admits he can't fully verify. If that holds up, Washington is effectively engineering the squeeze that hits farmers and truckers, creating its own shortage. Russia didn't help matters by stopping its diesel exports, yet two Americans who drove from Vladivostok to Moscow said fuel was plentiful and there was no crisis. Beyond the pumps, the diplomatic landscape is shifting. China reportedly balked at signing a G20 declaration in North Carolina that insisted the Hormuz strait remain open, while at the SCO gathering in Bishkek, India aligned with Russia and China in treating the strait as Iran's internal affair. Johnson frames this as a multimodal world with many neurons firing, and the next two weeks will see those neurons convening in Vladivostok and Delhi, with no American at the table. #ScottBessent

1mo