Europe's diesel imports fell to their lowest September level on record after China suspended all fuel exports this month and Russian supplies stayed constrained. President Donald Trump has told Germany and France to release diesel from storage or face a U.S. export ban, leaving the bloc with few options to keep fuel flowing.
Europe's diesel supply crunch worsened this week after China announced it will suspend all fuel exports for the month, cutting off a source of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel shipments. Russian diesel exports remain restricted, and the Persian Gulf has yet to replace the lost volume. As a result, Europe, which depends heavily on imported diesel, is running short of alternatives.
China's export halt adds to a record shortfall
Diesel imports into Europe last month reached the lowest September total on record, according to Vortexa, at just 1 million barrels daily. That is as much as 600,000 barrels daily lower than September 2025, and diesel cargoes headed to Europe are running more than 25% below last year's levels, pointing to another weak month of arrivals in October.
Local refinery runs across the continent also fell 600,000 barrels daily from August, after European refiners delayed scheduled maintenance to preserve supply for the tightening market. That delay has already triggered unplanned outages, which could disrupt domestic fuel production further.
Trump's ultimatum raises the stakes
Gasoline prices in the European Union have risen about 29% since the start of the year, while diesel has climbed 40%. The United States is the largest foreign fuel supplier to most of Europe, which is why Trump told France and Germany to release 120 million barrels of diesel from storage or lose access to American diesel. With sanctions on Russia and Russia's own export ban still in place, there is no alternative to U.S. fuel imports.
Germany and France together hold about 35% of the European Union's strategic diesel reserves, out of a bloc-wide stockpile of roughly 39 million tons, equal to more than two months of consumption. Bruegel analyst Georg Zachmann told Deutsche Welle that decades of tax incentives left Europe's vehicle fleet far more diesel-dependent than markets like the United States, leaving the bloc structurally short on the fuel it needs most.
Europe has also closed 30 of its 100 refineries since 2009 as part of efforts to cut carbon emissions, shrinking the capacity available to offset lost imports. With no quick fix available, storage releases from France and Germany now look unavoidable.
Source: Oilprice.com
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