By Forrest Crellin, Robert Harvey and Pietro Lombardi
PARIS/LONDON/MADRID, Oct 15 (Reuters) – The International Energy Agency agreed on Thursday to release over 20 million barrels of diesel to the market as soon as possible and any oil remaining from a record emergency reserves release pledged in March to help supply and cool soaring prices.
US President Donald Trump has pressed European Union countries to draw down reserves or face a potential US diesel export ban as he seeks to lower prices ahead of November 3 midterm elections.
Prices for diesel have surged to record highs in many markets on disrupted supply from the war in the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, posing inflation and cost-of-living threats to governments and consumers.
The 32-nation IEA’s board met on Thursday to discuss the scale and timing of stock releases.
“The IEA governing board reaffirmed its commitment to continue delivering on the March 2026 Collective Action in response to the Strait of Hormuz crisis,” it said in a statement after the meeting.
In March, countries had pledged to release more than 400 million barrels of crude and oil products as prices soared.
On Thursday members “agreed to accelerate the release of the remaining volumes, with specific plans already in place, including over 20 million barrels of diesel as soon as possible.”
SOME DISAPPOINTMENT OVER LACK OF EXTRA BARRELS
The figure of 20 million barrels of diesel is lower than the 50 million barrels that had been considered earlier, according to a source familiar with details of the discussion.
Reuters reported this month that EU governments were discussing a French proposal for the release of 50 million barrels of diesel alongside 50 million barrels of crude from IEA members.
After the IEA statement on Thursday, Europe’s benchmark gas oil contract, a fuel type which includes diesel, ticked higher to $1,430.75 per metric ton as of 1512 GMT, although it was still lower on the day.
“Gas oil prices ticking higher suggests some disappointment that we are not seeing any firm commitment to add additional barrels here and now,” said Ole Hansen, an analyst at Saxo Bank.
“Prices are high but we are not dealing with any shortages as such, so with that in mind it probably makes sense to keep the powder dry for now.”
The IEA, which coordinates industrialised nations’ releases of oil from emergency stocks, said some members had already released more than they pledged in March and that others planned to do so.
Approximately 330 million barrels have been released so far, the IEA said.
The United States told fellow IEA members that current release plans do not go far enough to quell rising fuel prices, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The White House, when asked by Reuters if it was unhappy with the IEA’s commitment to draw down reserves, provided the IEA’s statement from Thursday on the releases.
Spain said on Thursday it would release 4.4 million barrels from strategic reserves in October without specifying what it would release.
Spain so far has released 3.7 million of the 11.5 million barrels it pledged in March.
(Reporting by Forrest Crellin and Robert Harvey, editing by Alex Lawler, Kirsten Donovan and Jason Neely; additional reporting by Jarrett Renshaw)
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