(25 September 2026 – Global) US President Donald Trump has thrown his weight behind a blanket ban on US diesel exports ahead of the November US mid-term elections, set to drive inflation higher.
The US exports over 1.3 million barrels of diesel a day, representing a quarter of refining output as diesel prices soar to over US$6.50 a gallon, the highest average on record.
The country has effectively filled the gap in global diesel supplies left by China and Russia withdrawing from global seaborne refined fuels exports.
Britain is hastily preparing diesel rationing plans with just over a month of diesel stockpiles available.
Australia is considering Stage 3 and Stage 4 of its National Fuel Security Plan including demand reduction and direct supply rationing with an agriculture and mining based economy heavily reliant on diesel set to see inflation run further higher.
“I’ve said let’s not send out the diesel. We make a lot of diesel. I’ve called for it. I’ve called for it within my people” President Trump commented ahead of a meeting with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy.
“Australia is actually the largest importer of diesel in the world – that’s not per capita, that’s an absolute sense. Australia accounts for one per cent of the world’s fuel demand, but ten per cent of the world’s seaborne diesel imports” MST Marquee Head of Energy Research, Saul Kavonic commented to the ABC’s Kirsten Aiken.
“So if the US does go down this export ban path, particularly if they do it in a very severe way, I think we’ll be looking at rationing in a matter of weeks, particularly if we don’t see a deescalation in the Middle East occurring at the same time. And if that continues to escalate, plus a US export ban, that’s the one situation which we were really fearing and hoping would not happen. And unfortunately, it could be on our doorstep.”