Trump’s oil deal with Russia may not lower diesel prices as much as president hopes, analysis warns

President Donald Trump has struck a fuel arrangement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but an industry analyst doubts it will do much to ease what truckers and shoppers pay for diesel. Trump said on Friday that Russia would send 300,000 tons right away to the American and global markets, 500,000 more in November, and 1,000,000 tons after that, with a further 3,000,000 tons to follow within a short period. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in an analysis released Monday that he is "skeptical" the plan will bring significant relief, according to The Independent.

GasBuddy puts the national diesel average at about $6.25 a gallon. That is 5.9 cents under last week's level yet roughly $2.55 above a year ago. Trump has been hunting for ways to bring fuel costs down as midterm elections approach and the Iran war, which began in late February, enters its eighth month without a peace settlement.

The arrangement is also politically fraught. It reverses the isolation of Moscow pursued under former President Joe Biden after the Ukraine invasion. Republicans Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis and John Curtis joined bipartisan colleagues opposing the imports.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Independent’s reporting. Read the full story at The Independent →