US diesel hits record highs as oil supply fears mount

US diesel prices hit record highs Tuesday, as executives warned that the monthslong crunch in oil markets was entering its most acute phase.

Commercial and strategic oil stockpiles are running low, and the buffers helping “mitigate the price and supply risk… have largely now played out,” Chevron’s CEO said.

Saudi Arabia canceled some oil shipments to Europe Tuesday, sending importers scrambling for alternatives; the kingdom said that the East-West pipeline, taken offline after a drone attack, could be down for weeks.

The White House insisted that high prices were a “temporary disruption,” but energy CEOs who warned for months about an impending fuel crisis now “say it is here,” The Wall Street Journal wrote.