US diesel average hits $6.53 record as export-ban debate widens
President Donald Trump said Tuesday he would discuss Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil refineries with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, telling reporters the attacks had been “a serious hit on the Russians” and “a serious hit on the price of diesel.”
“It is a serious hit on the Russians. It’s also a serious hit on the price of diesel,” Trump told reporters ahead of the bilateral meeting.
The comments came as a gallon of diesel fuel in the United States averaged $6.53 on Tuesday, the highest average on record and more than 75% above the level of a year earlier. Diesel prices have rallied to record highs in Europe and the United States as wars in Iran and Ukraine have sharply cut exports from some of the world’s biggest producers, including Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking at the same meeting with Zelenskyy, said the administration was “examining whether it’s feasible in terms of the overall refining capacity and whether a full or partial ban would work.” Trump said he backed the idea of a diesel export ban.
“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,” Trump told reporters.
Trump’s comments came after he had urged Zelenskyy on Sunday to pause strikes on Russian oil refineries, citing concerns the attacks could push prices higher, the Financial Times reported. On social media, Trump wrote that Russia “unfortunately lost control of its Diesel Oil Industry.”
Some Republican Senate candidates in the most competitive midterm races had called for the administration to implement the export ban to try to alleviate high costs for Americans. US Representative Ashley Hinson, a Republican who is in a competitive Senate race in Iowa, wrote on X that “Iowans are being squeezed and shouldn’t have to foot the bill at the pump or the checkout line for the war in Iran.” She added: “We need to use every option at our disposal to provide some relief from high prices.”
The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers trade group said in a statement that an export ban would “backfire,” noting that domestic refiners would have to reduce production and that “producing less diesel also means producing less gasoline.”
Trump also told reporters he and Zelenskyy would discuss working out a solution to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. “I think it’s going to happen,” Trump said of a potential solution to the war. Reuters contributed reporting.