The diesel crisis may force the White House to tap a rarely used emergency reserve as prices hover near record highs, report says

The US could use a rarely used diesel stock to try to ease a diesel shortage that has sent the price of the fuel soaring in recent months.

A White House official told CNN that the White House is considering opening the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve to address the crisis. It was created in 2000 and only used once after Hurricane Sandy.

The impact would be minimal since the reserve is only 1 million barrels in total.

Over the last year, prices for the key fuel have surged as inventories have plummeted. The US's diesel inventories have fallen to the lowest level in four years. Market demand has outpaced supply, leading to price increases and fears of high inflation.

Things are worse in the Northeast. The average price for a gallon of diesel in New York state is over ten times the price it was a year ago.

Diesel powers a lot of the economy, as it is responsible for fueling big-rig trucks, farm equipment, and heavy industrial machinery.

The relief actions of earlier this year echo the diesel reserve being tapped. The White House said on March 31 that it will release 1 million barrels of crude oil per day from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve over the next six months. An additional 180 million barrels of crude will hit the market by the time the release ends in the fall. Administration officials said in March that the program would serve as a bridge until domestic oil companies could ramp up production.

The diesel market is facing its worst crisis in decades, as fuel prices continue to hit record highs, and with inventory still strained, analysts told Insider earlier.

In April, the influx of crude supply helped, but refining capacity is the main cause of price increases. The fees charged for converting crude to finished products have gone up due to the huge gap between supply and demand. Without more refining capacity, the supply of usable gasoline and diesel will continue to fall short.

Rob Thummel, managing director at Tortoise Capital, previously told Insider that there was significant demand due to economies opening up domestically and globally.