How low Rhine water levels disrupt petroleum shipments to Europe

Historically low water levels on the Rhine River have resulted in transportation disruptions for shipments of petroleum products by barge, which in turn have resulted in higher freight costs and higher prices in markets upriver, such as in southern Germany, EIA informed. These disruptions are occurring in a major petroleum product transportation corridor at the period when markets along the Rhine River typically build inventories of distillate fuel for space heating ahead of the winter.