Faced with rising fuel prices, the G7 decided on Friday to release up to 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil within four months. The leaders also rejected a ban on U.S. diesel exports. Emmanuel Macron announced that fuel prices should therefore fall.

Published on: 02/10/2026 - 11:03 Modified on: 02/10/2026 - 18:14

Could prices at the pump fall? The G7 leaders decided on Friday October 2 to release stocks of barrels of diesel and oil in the next four months. In total, up to 100 million barrels could be placed on the market. They also announced that exports between member countries will not be banned, which the United States had threatened to do. These decisions “should bring down the prices” of fuels, declared Emmanuel Macron, while inflation continues to rise in France and Europe.

“We have decided to release strategic stocks of diesel and crude oil under the coordination of the International Energy Agency (...) to be able to release up to 100 million barrels within four months,” announced Emmanuel Macron after a video conference of the G7 chaired by France.

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“Substantial” stocks of diesel will be put on the market in the next 20 days, according to a statement from G7 member countries - Germany, Canada, United States, France, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom. They do not rule out “discussing the possibility” of releasing “additional” stocks.

In addition, “we are all committed to ensuring that there is no export ban. President Trump has been very clear on this point,” added Emmanuel Macron.

Donald Trump assured at the same time on his Truth Social network that “Europe had just agreed to put on the market a massive quantity of its abundantly stored diesel”. “The process will begin immediately,” assured the American president.

These decisions "should bring down the prices" of fuels, the prices of which are soaring due to the war in the Middle East, according to the French president.

Emmanuel Macron also indicated that the G7 countries had agreed to "work (...) to reduce refiners' margins and to reduce transport costs" which have greatly increased with the blockages of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Also read: Soaring fuel prices: how other European countries are organizing themselves

American pressure

To relieve the world market, the American government pressed Europe to draw on its diesel stocks and even threatened to ban fuel exports to the European Union in the event of refusal.

But the European Commission had warned that such a ban would “damage our trust in the United States as a reliable partner.”

Cutting off American supplies would be a catastrophe for the EU, because 50% of the diesel imported by the Twenty-Seven comes from the United States.

The oil market had anticipated these announcements. American WTI prices had fallen 5% at midday in London.

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Throughout the day, meetings followed one another in Brussels.

On the French side, Emmanuel Macron had Donald Trump on the phone during the night from Thursday to Friday. He stressed that the G7 countries "had a common interest in acting in a concerted manner, without restrictions on exports", according to the Élysée.

The German government, for its part, called for “coordinated solutions” in order to “not further disrupt” the markets.

Inflation increases in September 2026

Last March, the member states of the International Energy Agency (IEA), including those of the EU, promised to gradually release 400 million barrels of oil taken from their strategic stocks, but not all of them have yet been placed on the market.

Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy infrastructure and Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz are severely hampering global diesel production, although refineries elsewhere in the world are running at full capacity to process crude oil into fuel.

Inflation in the Eurozone rose to 3.8% in September to a new three-year high (3% in France), due to the surge in energy prices caused by the conflict in the Middle East.

In the EU, the pump price of diesel has just reached a new historic high with a weekly average of 2.24 euros per liter.

In the United States, this fuel reached a record level of $6.53 per gallon (3.78 liters) at the end of September.

“American farmers, road hauliers and businesses should not have to bear the brunt of a global diesel shortage alone,” said American Finance Minister Scott Bessent before these announcements, while the mid-term legislative elections are being held in early November.

On Tuesday, the European Commission had already made a gesture towards the hydrocarbon giants and Washington, by proposing to postpone for one year its law against methane emissions, an extremely polluting greenhouse gas.

With AFP

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