Less than a month's supply: Europe's jet fuel stocks are wafer thin as Iran tensions flare

Source: Reuters

July 13, 2026v1:03 AM EDT Updated 6 hours ago


LONDON, July 13 (Reuters) - Europe has imported jet fuel from the U.S. and Asia, raised its refiners' output and drawn ​on stocks to keep planes flying – and yet it remains the region most exposed as renewed Middle Eastern tension raises the risk of further ‌supply disruption.

Britain, France and Germany are particularly vulnerable in a continent where decades of refinery closures left it more reliant than most on Middle Eastern shipments via the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait, conduit for around a fifth of the world's seaborne oil and liquefied natural gas until U.S.-Israeli airstrikes unleashed a war on Iran at the end of February, partly reopened in June. In July, however, ​a fragile truce has come under threat from strikes by both sides.

Data from consultancy Energy Aspects dated June 18 already anticipates a supply deficit across Europe ​of nearly 600,000 barrels per day in the third quarter, against surpluses of 116,000 bpd in the United States and 425,000 bpd ⁠in Asia-Pacific. Inventories stood at 38 million barrels at the start of June, compared with 99 million in the United States, Energy Aspects said. That leaves Europe with ​less than 30 days of demand cover, Reuters calculations show — the tightest of the major jet fuel markets.

The most recent data available from the International Energy Agency's latest monthly report, ​showed provisionally jet fuel stocks were 10% higher year-on-year at the end of May, while refinery output rose 30%. The figures also implied only a month of leeway.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/less-than-months-supply-europes-jet-fuel-stocks-are-wafer-thin-iran-tensions-2026-07-13/