Shrinking Oil Inventories Raise Fears of Prolonged Energy Crisis

Global oil inventories are depleting rapidly, with Asia at minimum operational levels and Europe expected to follow by July. The supply shortage is driven by underinvestment and geopolitical tensions, leading to higher crude and refined product prices. Refiners face margin compression due to rising input costs, while consumers face higher fuel prices. The mechanism is supply_shortage and input_cost, affecting producers positively and consumers negatively.