Trump warning on diesel forces EU emergency talks as prices hit record highs

Donald Trump has said he may call on European countries to release diesel reserves as the UK joined crisis talks with Brussels to discuss emergency stocks.

As the US readies for its November midterm elections, the president is under mounting pressure to bring down prices.

Mr Trump told reporters while on the campaign trail in Texas that he "may" ask European countries to draw down their reserves.

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Treasury secretary Scott Bessent added that US "farmers, truckers, and businesses should not be left carrying the burden" of soaring prices.

Mr Trump has already threatened a ban on exports of US diesel, which would leave Britain competing with other countries to find an alternative supply, at a higher cost.

The UK imports nearly 55% of the diesel it uses, with the US accounting for around 31% of that.

As the threat of a US ban on diesel exports loomed, European leaders, including UK energy minister Martin McCluskey, met on Thursday to discuss releasing supplies.

While some countries like Spain and Germany have nearly 400 days' worth of supplies, the UK only has about 42.

Transport minister Keir Mather said the UK had a wide-range of sources of fuel and supply is resilient.

He told Sky News: "I want to reassure people this morning that the United Kingdom has got a diverse range of supply when it comes to diesel.

"We have resilience built into our system for that reason. We are working very closely with our US counterparts to stress the importance of that relationship, and the importance of sustaining flows of diesel around the world, but also working through international fora in the International Energy Agency and partners in Europe from whom we get a proportion of our diesel imports as well."

He added: "Although prices have gone up at the pump, the government is aware of that and the freeze in fuel duty is still in place. People shouldn't be concerned about shortages because of the inherent resilience that is built into that system."

Why are prices so high?

Prices have been pushed up, with filling a diesel car costing £2 per litre on average, according to Sky News figures based on a rolling five-day weighted average price from the government's fuel finder platform.

Not helping the situation is China's suspension of some refined oil exports, according to the Reuters news agency.

Supplies have been disrupted and costs have gone up since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran.

Such high prices spell trouble for inflation, as diesel is used in transporting goods and can cause costs to rise across the board.

(c) Sky News 2026: Trump warning on diesel forces EU emergency talks as prices hit record highs