British drivers braced for some relief at the pumps this weekend after the G7 group of advanced economies agreed to release 100 million barrels of oil and diesel onto world markets. The co-ordinated move, agreed under the auspices of the International Energy Agency, begins immediately and will run over four months, with a front-loaded release of diesel inside the first 20 days.
What the G7 actually agreed
The joint statement from G7 leaders commits members to a “co-ordinated release through the IEA of 100 million barrels to begin immediately over four months”, including “a frontloaded substantial diesel release within the first 20 days by G7 members and partners”. The bloc will also drop any export restrictions on energy and energy products between members, and will co-ordinate refinery maintenance schedules so that plants are not shut simultaneously.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who chaired the meeting, said the agreement would release reserves of “up to 100 million barrels” and would “bring down the prices of petroleum products, particularly diesel”. The UK was represented by Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who said the measures would “stabilise energy supplies, build resilience in supply chains and shield households and businesses from price shocks”.
Why diesel, and why now
The focus on diesel rather than petrol reflects where the shortage bites hardest in Britain. Diesel underpins the haulage industry and agriculture, and demand for it is notoriously hard to reduce, which makes it far less responsive to price signals than petrol. As the BBC reports, rises in its cost feed through into essentials such as food, which is why a diesel-only squeeze at the forecourt quickly becomes a household spending story.
Over half of the UK’s diesel is imported, and roughly 31% of those imports come from the United States. American refiners churn out between four and five million barrels a day, of which about 3.6 million are consumed domestically, leaving one to one-and-a-half million barrels exported daily. That makes the US a pivotal supplier on the global market — and made President Donald Trump’s earlier threat to ban US diesel exports an extraordinarily blunt instrument to hold over allies.
From threat to retreat
Trump first backed an export ban early last week and was still weighing it on Thursday, with his administration pressing Europe to tap its own reserves. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argued that American farmers, truckers and businesses “should not be left carrying the burden” as prices soared at home ahead of November’s midterms.
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By Friday the tone had reversed. Trump wrote that “Europe has just agreed to release a massive amount of their heavily stocked Diesel Oil”, and later at the White House said an export ban was “never really on the table”, adding that “what Europe did was a great thing”.
Why it matters
For UK households and hauliers, this is the most direct lever the government has on pump prices. British diesel topped £2 a litre for the first time on Friday, a milestone that turns a global supply problem into something drivers feel every working day. A four-month front-loaded release should ease wholesale prices, though how much reaches the forecourt — and how fast — depends on refining margins and retailer pass-through.
Brent crude briefly fell below $100 a barrel on the announcement before climbing back to around $102 by Friday evening, against roughly $73 before the US and Israel invaded Iran. Matt Smith, director of commodities research at Kpler, said prices reversed on rumours of a Saudi offensive into Yemen aimed at restoring a safe route through Bab al-Mandab.
What happens next
The practical test is the next 20 days. It remains unclear which partner countries will release stocks, and at what speed, so forecourt prices may not move immediately. Russia, a major producer, has imposed its own diesel export ban after Ukrainian strikes on its refineries, further tightening the market, and the G7 said it will maintain sanctions against Russia.
If prices fail to fall, the pressure for a harder US response is likely to return — and Britain, as a heavy importer of American diesel, would again sit on the wrong side of that argument.
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