Why the coronavirus is making it cheaper to fuel planes

Feb 09, 2020 at 07:03 AM CST
When the coronavirus outbreak forced the cancellation of thousands of flights in China and, in the process, wiped out demand for jet fuel, refiners there did what they normally do in such situations: They looked across the Pacific to California. The problem is, there was already a lot of fuel on the water. As of late Wednesday, almost 3 million barrels of Asian jet fuel, enough to fill 4,000 Boeing 777-200 airplanes, were headed to California ports, according to data intelligence firm Kpler.

Feb 09, 2020 at 07:03 AM CST

When the coronavirus outbreak forced the cancellation of thousands of flights in China and, in the process, wiped out demand for jet fuel, refiners there did what they normally do in such situations: They looked across the Pacific to California. The problem is, there was already a lot of fuel on the water. As of late Wednesday, almost 3 million barrels of Asian jet fuel, enough to fill 4,000 Boeing 777-200 airplanes, were headed to California ports, according to data intelligence firm Kpler.