Energy Market Update From Eric Osterhaus, VP of Energy
Mar 03, 2026
At this time, I'm sure everyone is well aware of the geopolitical conflicts we are currently facing. This war/conflict has obviously affected the energy markets, so I wanted to take a moment to provide an update on what we have seen over the last few days and weeks.
Over the past two to three weeks, we saw a gradual rise in fuel prices and heard a lot of rhetoric on a potential US-Iran conflict. There didn't seem to be a lot of information leading to where we are today; however, it seemed like every couple of days, it was stated that talks were positive, but then the next day, it went south. This conflict seems as though it will not be short-lived. My opinion is we could very well see higher fuel prices from now through most of the summer. I read that President Trump had planned for a 4-5 week combat mission, but if needed, they were prepared to go longer.
Fuel pricing will likely change on a daily basis until things begin to level off in the markets, and when we get our inventory in check. We have seen crude oil rise about $10/barrel in the last two days, while diesel markets have risen nearly $0.70 and gasoline markets $0.30 in that timeframe.
Propane is a little different story. We are reaching the tail end of our heating season, and we still have plenty of pre-purchased propane available, so I don't feel that we will make any pricing moves on propane. Even though propane prices move with crude oil at times, there are other factors that work separately from diesel and gas. Demand has not been high this season due to the mild temperatures this winter, and there has been a very high supply of propane in the United States at the same time. Again, at this time, I don't anticipate any movement in our propane prices in the near future, so hopefully that will ease some people's fears in that regard.
If you have any questions or concerns about any of this, please feel free to give me a call to discuss.
Thanks,
Eric Osterhaus
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Over the past two to three weeks, we saw a gradual rise in fuel prices and heard a lot of rhetoric on a potential US-Iran conflict. There didn't seem to be a lot of information leading to where we are today; however, it seemed like every couple of days, it was stated that talks were positive, but then the next day, it went south. This conflict seems as though it will not be short-lived. My opinion is we could very well see higher fuel prices from now through most of the summer. I read that President Trump had planned for a 4-5 week combat mission, but if needed, they were prepared to go longer.
Fuel pricing will likely change on a daily basis until things begin to level off in the markets, and when we get our inventory in check. We have seen crude oil rise about $10/barrel in the last two days, while diesel markets have risen nearly $0.70 and gasoline markets $0.30 in that timeframe.
Propane is a little different story. We are reaching the tail end of our heating season, and we still have plenty of pre-purchased propane available, so I don't feel that we will make any pricing moves on propane. Even though propane prices move with crude oil at times, there are other factors that work separately from diesel and gas. Demand has not been high this season due to the mild temperatures this winter, and there has been a very high supply of propane in the United States at the same time. Again, at this time, I don't anticipate any movement in our propane prices in the near future, so hopefully that will ease some people's fears in that regard.
If you have any questions or concerns about any of this, please feel free to give me a call to discuss.
Thanks,
Eric Osterhaus
Sign up to receive regular snapshots of energy markets and Ag Partners Energy operations to your Ag Partners Portal inbox (and via text) at: https://www.agpartnerscoop.com/about/subscriptions#energy-market-update