Falling crude oil prices have failed to translate into lower costs for motorists, as a structural bottleneck in global refining capacity prevents wholesale savings from reaching retail pumps.
The disconnect highlights a shift in the energy supply chain, where the constraint has moved upstream from extraction to downstream processing.
According to analysis from Bankier.pl, the global "bottleneck" has effectively migrated from production to refining.
While crude benchmarks have retreated, suggesting the end of acute supply shocks at the wellhead, the inability of refineries to process sufficient volumes keeps tight on finished fuels.
This structural imbalance means that even as raw material costs drop, the scarcity of refined products maintains upward pressure on gasoline and diesel prices.
This dynamic is compounded by fiscal policy in many markets.