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Business

Trump backs US diesel export ban as pump prices hit records — UK fuel crisis fears

Donald Trump has backed the idea of a ban on US diesel exports as prices hit record highs on both sides of the Atlantic, raising fears of a UK fuel crisis — analysts warn the move could backfire.

By James Calloway · · Updated · 2 min read

A diesel nozzle alongside petrol nozzles at a Neste Oil filling station pump
Photo: Htm, via Wikimedia Commons · source

Donald Trump has backed the idea of a ban on US diesel exports as pump prices hit record highs on both sides of the Atlantic, a move analysts warn could worsen Britain’s fuel crisis.

Speaking in New York on Tuesday before a meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mr Trump told reporters: “I’ve said let’s not send out the diesel … I’ve called for it,” Reuters reported. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said the administration was examining whether a full or partial ban was feasible.

The comments came as average US diesel prices hit a record $6.5107 a gallon, according to AAA, while European prices also rallied to records as wars in Iran and Ukraine cut exports from major producers. The US exported a record 1.6 million barrels a day of diesel in August, with the UK among the top buyers, a Reuters explainer said.

In Britain, the RAC put diesel at 196.89p a litre on Tuesday, up 12.7p since the start of September, and warned it could soon pass £2 a litre. The UK imports about 31 per cent of its diesel from the US, leaving forecourts exposed.

But the American Petroleum Institute said restricting exports “would wreak havoc on fuel markets at home and abroad”, and energy economist Philip Verleger said it could raise world prices by as much as 100 per cent. The Wall Street Journal reported ICE gasoil futures jumped up to 7 per cent on the news, with Europe particularly exposed.

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