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Donald Trump’s new deal with Russia to boost diesel supply over the next few months is unlikely to make a dent in high prices, experts have said.
The US president said he had made an agreement with Vladimir Putin to increase fuel supplies to the US and global markets, saying the move would help bring down costs for businesses and consumers.
Trump said Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel, followed by further shipments in November and beyond. His administration also temporarily eased sanctions on Russian fuel, reversing a policy intended to deprive Moscow of revenue for its war against Ukraine.
The US president also announced a decision to unilaterally lift fuel sanctions on Moscow so that it could supply the US and the global market with diesel. Trump has been keen to bring down the price of diesel, which has risen in recent months due to Russian and Ukrainian tit-for-tat strikes on energy infrastructure and the US war with Iran.
The national average for a gallon of diesel in the US hit a record high of $6.53 on 22 September. Diesel prices have hit records in Europe, too.
In the UK, households have been told to keep small supplies of cash, bottled water and tinned food at home in case of emergency or war, by Defence Secretary Wes Streeting.
Mr Streeting said Britain faces a growing threat of being disrupted by fires, floods, and enemy attacks, including cyber warfare.
He called for a "whole society approach" to strengthen national resilience, though he insisted people should remain "alert not alarmed" regarding potential risks.
Senior policy experts have suggested the move from Trump is unlikely to have a significant impact on oil prices in the U.S. or globally.
Michael Lynch, a fellow at the Energy Policy Research Foundation, said: “It’s kind of shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic.
“If we get diesel from Russia, basically it means that their existing customers are not going to get it and they’ll have to go somewhere else, and that will keep the price basically where it is now.”
Mr Lynch said: “The best you could hope for is a tiny dip in prices locally in places like the New York-New Jersey area, Philadelphia maybe.”
Meanwhile, Gregory Brew, an analyst with Eurasia Group’s Energy, Climate & Resources team, said in an email quoted in CNN that the deal would be “a band-aid, nothing more.”
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, responding to the reported diesel deal between Russia and the US, told Axios the agreement is “not fair and not honest”.
“You know, it looks like a happy birthday present for Putin. It looks absolutely terrible,” Zelensky said, referring to the Russian president’s birthday on Wednesday.