Diesel dilemma
USO•President Donald Trump backed the idea of restricting diesel exports, before Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the administration was not pursuing an outright ban. US retail diesel prices reached a record $6.50 a gallon, while exports rose more than 20% this year to about 1.3 million barrels per day.
1. Export restrictions debated
Trump supported restricting diesel exports as US prices surged. On Wednesday, Wright said the administration was instead working with refiners to boost domestic supplies through a voluntary, cooperative approach, and that no decisions had been made.
2. Tight global supplies
US diesel inventories were about 13% below year-ago levels and at their lowest for this time of year in more than four decades. The United States now accounts for about one-fifth of global seaborne diesel exports, with exports up more than 20% this year from 2025 levels to around 1.3 million barrels per day. Mexico, Chile and Brazil together buy more than a quarter of US exports, and Europe takes roughly another quarter. European benchmark diesel prices rose more than 5% on Wednesday, while US prices and refining margins fell as traders considered possible restrictions.
