America Is Paying a Lot for Fuel, Not Running Out of Gasoline

Despite growing social media panic claiming that the United States is running out of fuel, official data indicates that the country is facing high prices rather than physical gasoline shortages. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. gasoline inventories rose by 800,000 barrels last week to 207.7 million barrels, placing stockpiles at 5% below their five-year average. U.S. refinery throughput reached 17.3 million barrels per day with a high utilization rate of 96.8%, driving gasoline production up to 9.6 million barrels per day, while demand softened slightly by 1% year-over-year. However, consumer fuel costs remain severely elevated. Regular gasoline averaged $4.44 per gallon and diesel reached a record $6.40 per gallon, with regional refinery issues pushing Midwest diesel near $7.00. The broader supply tightness is concentrated in distillates, where stocks are 13% below the five-year average due to Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refining assets and Middle Eastern supply disruptions. While WTI crude trades above $100 per barrel, market experts emphasize that high prices do not signal an outright fuel depletion.