A Middle East energy supply shock entering its third month is disrupting gasoline, diesel and lubricants worldwide. In France, 15% of roughly 9,900 registered gas stations lacked at least one gasoline or diesel product as of the 20th, up from below 10% earlier in the week. U.S. diesel prices have exceeded $6.50 per gallon for the first time, while European diesel reached a record €2.39 per liter. The disruption has been linked to sharply reduced tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz amid escalating hostilities between the United States and Iran, as well as a drone attack from Iraq that took Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline offline. Saudi Aramco has told at least two major European refining customers that it cannot provide contracted crude volumes next month and has canceled some deliveries scheduled for the end of this month, RIA Novosti reported. The squeeze is especially severe in Group III base oil, the main feedstock for full-synthetic motor oil, with U.S. prices reaching $12.45 per gallon on the 18th, nearly four times February levels. Retailers have limited purchases, and auto-service companies are absorbing higher costs through price increases and temporary supply measures. The International Energy Agency data analyzed by the Financial Times showed that 94 countries had consumer fuel-cost support policies by early September, up from 56 four months earlier.