Key takeaways:
- The average U.S. diesel price was $6.38 a gallon Thursday, up 70% since the war with Iran began, according to AAA figures reported by NBC News.
- U.S. officials urged Europe to release emergency diesel supplies, but no European commitment had been announced by Thursday evening.
- Trump is considering a U.S. diesel export ban, which EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said would harm Europe’s economy.
President Donald Trump said Thursday that the United States may ask European countries to release diesel from emergency reserves, as his administration seeks to ease a global supply crunch and bring down fuel prices ahead of U.S. midterm elections.
The average U.S. diesel price reached $6.38 a gallon Thursday, up 70% since the war with Iran began, according to AAA figures reported by NBC News. Al Jazeera reported that diesel had hit a record $6.53 a gallon a week earlier. European prices have also climbed: European Commission data showed that 12 EU member states, including Italy, Belgium, Romania and Poland, had recorded new all-time highs, according to Al Jazeera.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged European allies to move quickly. “Our European partners should accelerate delivery on their existing commitments and make additional supplies immediately available to address ongoing disruptions” to energy markets, he wrote Thursday on X. “American farmers, truckers, and businesses should not be left carrying the burden of a global diesel shortage.”
Shortly afterward, Trump told reporters “we may” request a release from European stockpiles. Energy Secretary Chris Wright had sounded more certain Wednesday, telling reporters at a White House event: “You will hear announcements from our friends in Europe about new diesel supplies that’ll come to the market that’ll meaningfully push diesel prices down.” No such announcement had materialized by Thursday evening, NBC News reported.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said he raised diesel supplies at a G20 trade ministers meeting in Milwaukee this week. He told Bloomberg News he would welcome “a collaborative response” to the shortage, NBC News reported. Al Jazeera quoted Greer as saying he believed France, Germany and Italy “would love to have a cooperative path forward with the United States on how we get more diesel to market.”
Europe has not publicly committed to releasing reserves. The European Union is “in very close contact with our member states on this ongoing issue,” European Commission energy spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen told reporters in Brussels. “We are also having high-level contacts ongoing with the U.S. administration.” France and Germany hold more than a third of the EU’s strategic diesel reserves, Al Jazeera reported, citing Reuters.
The administration is also weighing a step that could pull U.S. diesel out of international markets. Asked Wednesday about banning diesel exports, Trump said, “I’m thinking about it.” He said Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum thought such a move could help diesel prices but might raise the price of other goods. EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said a U.S. ban would be “unexpected” and would harm Europe’s economy, according to Al Jazeera.
Wright cited lost diesel exports from Russia, some from the Middle East and from China as contributors to the tight market. “That’s a lot of interruptions,” he said. NBC News reported that Russia halted diesel exports after Ukrainian drone strikes damaged its refineries and extended its export ban Wednesday through the end of October. The outlet also reported that U.S. and European refineries have been operating near full capacity for months.
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