Washington has intensified pressure on European governments to release strategic diesel reserves, as President Donald Trump considers banning American diesel exports ahead of the November midterm elections.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said European partners should accelerate delivery on their existing commitments and make additional supplies immediately available to ease disruptions that have pushed fuel prices sharply higher across the continent.
The shortage has been traced to a combination of factors, including the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which handles roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and gas shipments, continuing fallout from tensions between the United States, Israel and Iran, and export restrictions imposed by Russia. China has also moved to prioritise its domestic market, halting some fuel exports and tightening global supply further.
In the United Kingdom, diesel prices are reported to have climbed to record highs this week, with pump prices nearing 200 pence a litre. Officials say the country’s 15.1 million diesel-powered vehicles rely heavily on imports, as the UK’s four refineries are unable to meet domestic demand on their own. UK Energy Minister Martin McCluskey has been in talks with European Commission officials over how to stabilise supply.
The United States currently exports between 1.2 million and 1.5 million barrels of diesel daily to global markets. Analysts warn that any move to restrict that flow, even temporarily, could send international prices sharply higher. One energy economist cautioned that cutting off American supply would likely cause international prices to skyrocket, with ripple effects likely to extend well beyond Europe.
For Trump, the push to keep domestic pump prices low is widely seen as being driven by the political calendar, with Republicans keen to avoid a fuel-price backlash at the ballot box in November. European officials, however, are said to be wary of being squeezed between tightening domestic needs and Washington’s demands, particularly as winter approaches and heating fuel demand rises.
The standoff underscores how the Middle East crisis continues to ripple through global energy markets months after it began, with consumers from London to Nairobi likely to feel the knock-on effects of a prolonged supply crunch.