The global diesel crisis deepened this week as China's biggest refiners suspended most refined fuel exports for October, Vladimir Putin vowed Russia will keep its diesel off world markets until sanctions are lifted, and the Trump administration pressed Europe to tap emergency stockpiles. With Brent crude above $100 a barrel, the world is heading into winter with fuel supplies under severe strain.
China halts October fuel exports
Chinese refiners have suspended most exports of diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel for October as Beijing prioritizes domestic supply security, Reuters reported. The move removes another major source of refined products from an already severely constrained global market — one where diesel refining margins are expected to peak this month.
Putin: no Russian diesel until sanctions end
Speaking at the Valdai Forum in Moscow on Thursday, President Putin said Russia will not supply diesel to global energy markets until sanctions against Moscow are lifted. He added that Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries — including an overnight strike on a facility in the Samara region confirmed by President Zelenskyy on Thursday — have cost Russia 1% of its GDP.
Trump pressures Europe — and Ukraine
The Trump administration has told Germany and France to draw down emergency diesel inventories or face a potential US diesel export ban, according to three sources. Britain is separately in talks with European allies over releasing emergency stockpiles after Trump threatened to cut off US diesel supplies. Meanwhile, Trump privately urged Zelenskyy to halt the refinery attacks, publicly blaming Ukraine's strikes for the global fuel squeeze.
Oil prices: Brent above $100
Brent crude traded at $101.61 a barrel on Friday (0635 GMT), down 0.7% on the day, while WTI sat at $92.02. Analysts say the $100 level has become a psychological threshold, with markets pricing in vulnerable supply chains for longer. In the US, AAA averages cited this week put gasoline at $4.41 and diesel at $6.38 a gallon — just 14 cents off the all-time high.
The squeeze comes as the US sends a third aircraft carrier and up to 10,000 more troops to the Middle East, with Trump weighing renewed strikes on Iran — adding a geopolitical risk premium on top of the physical shortage.
Watch: The diesel crisis is getting worse — China halts exports, Russia extends ban, Trump's threat
Sources: NewBase/Reuters, Climate and Economy, The Guardian, The Daily Brief