UK Holds Emergency Talks With U.S. as Diesel Crisis Escalates
BLM Opens 35,000 California Acres to December Oil and Gas Lease Sale CityAM.com is the online presence of City A.M., London's first free daily business newspaper. Both platforms cover financial and business news as well as sport and… Energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh is holding crunch talks with her American counterpart over Donald Trump’s threat to curb diesel exports to Europe.
City AMunderstands that Fahnbulleh is in direct contact with US energy secretary Chris Wright to discuss a US move to potentially choke off diesel exports to Europe that threatens to upend supply and send prices at the pump soaring, a person familiar with the discussions said.
The UK and Europe are being pressured by the Trump administration to tap into theiremergency stockpiles of the fuelto relieve a major global shortage sparked by the conflict in the Middle East.
The President is said to be weighing a range of protectionist trade measures should Europe refuse to release its reserves, ranging from curbing exports to select countries to an all out ban on US-produced diesel.
Energy minister Martin McCluskey joined a call with EU commissioners on Thursday to weigh a collective response, the person said, and participants agreed “to maintain close contact” as events develop.
A US official told Reuters: “It is in Europe’s best interest to work with the United States as we pursue multiple pathways to boost the supply of refined products and lower costs for consumers.” But any loss of US diesel would be enormously damaging for Britain, which currently imports over half its supply of the refined fuel.
Roughly a third of that currently comes from the States, meaning any ban would choke off one of the country’s major sources of supply in an already starved global market.
Adding to the situation’s severity is the prospect of Britain’s largest refineryshuttering its operations for 10 weeksfor planned maintenance.
The Fawley site in Hampshire is responsible for producing kerosene for Heathrow and a fifth of diesel used at British forecourts.
Diesel prices have been rising across the globe, as some of the world’s largest refineries have become targets in both the Middle East and Ukraine conflicts.
In Britain, the fuel has climbed to 200p a litre, nearing the record set during the height of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
For drivers, the rise means it costs almost £110 to fill up a typical family car, £31 more than before the onset of the Iran war.
| Product | Price | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Brent Crude | $102.14/bbl | +0.34% |
| WTI Crude | $96.90/bbl | +0.21% |
| EN590 Diesel | $846/MT | +0.18% |
| Jet Fuel A-1 | $1090/MT | +0.55% |
| Mazut M100 | $450/MT | -0.15% |
| Bitumen 60/70 | $470/MT | +0.08% |
| Sulphur Gran 99.5% | $470/MT | -0.44% |
| Urea 46% Gran | $650/MT | +1.12% |
| NPK 16-16-16 | $460/MT | -0.28% |
| Nat Gas TTF | $15.42/MMBtu | +0.92% |
Comments
Post a Comment