The EU's energy commissioner has urged Donald Trump to keep US diesel exports flowing after the president threatened a ban, warning Europe already faces its worst winter for energy prices since 2022. Brent crude trades above $100 a barrel while European diesel prices sit near record highs.
EU energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen has pressed Donald Trump to maintain a "free flow" of diesel, warning that even with uninterrupted US supplies, this winter could be the worst for Europe since 2022. Trump rattled the market earlier this week when he said he would back a ban on diesel exports, a move traders warned would be catastrophic for Europe because the US is its biggest supplier.
US energy secretary Chris Wright later cast doubt on the merits of a full embargo. But the threat adds to the latest challenge to Europe's energy security as the conflict in the Middle East continues to disrupt global supplies.
Oil and gas already near multi-year highs
European natural gas prices recently hit their highest level since the 2022 crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, while Brent crude oil is still trading above $100 a barrel. According to the NGO Transport & Environment, Europeans are already paying more than €30 extra for a tank of diesel compared with before the US-Iran war.
Jørgensen said it was in both countries' interests to keep energy flowing freely between them: "have as free a flow of energy between our countries as possible". Increased output by US and European refineries has allowed EU countries to continue importing enough diesel and jet fuel to avoid supply crises. Yet the Trump administration is under pressure over domestic diesel prices ahead of November's midterm elections, and analysts have said a US export cutoff would send prices surging worldwide.
Brussels weighs short-term relief
Jørgensen said the European Commission is assessing short-term measures to lower fossil fuel prices, after French President Emmanuel Macron called for immediate action, including postponing stricter methane-import rules and softening fuel-refining requirements. An official later confirmed Jørgensen had instructed the Commission to examine a one-year postponement of the methane rules.
He urged member states to lower taxes on electricity and invest more in green energy, using fiscal flexibility the Commission has already introduced, though only Italy and Greece have done so. The Commission has also proposed doubling the EU's electrification rate to 46% by 2040.
Jørgensen said the most likely scenario is very high prices without security-of-supply problems, speaking ahead of a meeting of EU energy ministers in Dublin next week.
Source: FT (Energy sector)
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