Benchmark diesel price rises after eight weeks of declines

Price Trends - The benchmark diesel price has increased by 7.1 cents/gallon to $3.53/g, marking the first upward movement after eight weeks of declines [1] - Ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) prices on the CME commodity exchange rose from $2.0567/g on January 7 to $2.3385/g on January 14, influenced by geopolitical tensions [2] - As of Wednesday, ULSD prices further increased by 8.31 cents/g to $2.4216/g, representing a 3.55% rise [3] Production Issues - Kazakhstan has halted output at two key fields, Tengiz and Korolev, due to electric power issues, with expected output reductions lasting another seven to ten days [4] - Kazakhstan's oil output fell from approximately 1.75 million barrels per day (b/d) in November to about 1.52 million b/d in December due to tanker loading problems [4] Market Dynamics - The International Energy Agency (IEA) reported a forecasted surplus of supply relative to demand for 2026, contributing to bearish fundamentals in oil markets [5][6] - Despite the IEA's bearish outlook, recent geopolitical tensions and production issues in Kazakhstan have led to a price rebound, with Brent crude settling at $64.92/b on Tuesday and reaching $66.52/b on January 14 [7]