US · Public record
US diesel hit a record $6.53 a gallon, AAA says. Trump says he is looking "very seriously" at an export ban.
U.S. diesel set a new record of $6.53 a gallon on 22 September, AAA data show. President Trump says he is looking "very seriously" at banning diesel exports, and U.S. allies are warning against it.
What changed
The U.S. national average price of diesel hit a record $6.53 a gallon on Tuesday 22 September 2026, up 77% from a year earlier, according to AAA data reported by CBS News. The U.S. Energy Information Administration's weekly survey, released the same day, put the on-highway average at $6.529, up 24 cents in a week and $2.78 above a year earlier, FleetOwner reported. Bloomberg reported late on Friday 25 September that retail prices had hit $6.53 "for the first time ever" earlier that week, and on 27 September that they were averaging about $6.50. AAA's national average was $6.453 on Monday 28 September, below the $6.53 record and down from $6.511 a week earlier.
The previous record was set at the start of the month, on a different measure. On Thursday 3 September 2026, GasBuddy's live U.S. national average diesel price reached $5.820 a gallon, above the prior all-time high of $5.819 set on 17 June 2022, Reuters reported that day. AP News and USA Today also reported the record. AAA's $6.53 is 71 cents above GasBuddy's $5.820, though the two are separate price series.
The price has turned into a policy fight in Washington over whether to stop U.S. diesel from leaving the country.
- President Donald Trump told a Fox News reporter on Sunday 27 September: "we're looking at it very seriously — we may do it," Bloomberg reported. Bloomberg said several farm-state lawmakers had urged him to limit exports during the fall harvest. It also reported that National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer had spent the past week analysing a potential short-term ban.
- Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told refining industry leaders late on Friday 25 September that the White House had given assurances the administration would not ban U.S. diesel exports, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the call. Cruz described the assurances as coming from the White House, not specifically from the president.
- Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a livestream hosted by Heatmap on Wednesday 23 September: "We will not cease exports of US diesel, but may there be some tweak in where diesel flows out of US refineries? I think we're going to see that because it can stop the rise in price of diesel." He added: "I don't think you will see a blanket ban on diesel," Bloomberg reported. Bloomberg also reported Wright saying the administration is working with refiners on voluntary export curbs as an alternative to a government-imposed ban.
- UK Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said on Sunday 27 September that a U.S. ban would be "a significant concern" for Britain, Politico reported. Politico said the UK gets around one-sixth of its diesel from the United States. "Our resilience comes from a diverse supply in a whole range of areas and fuel is no different to that," Reynolds said.
- French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday 24 September that he had told Trump a 90-day ban would be a bad idea, "not just for the rest of the world, but for the U.S. economy as well," Politico reported. Politico said U.S. shipments now make up more than half of the European Union's diesel imports.
Reuters reported on 17 August that Middle Eastern diesel exports had been hit hard by disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, while Russia had banned international sales through January because of Ukrainian attacks on its refineries. Bloomberg reported that U.S. diesel exports reached a weekly record of nearly 2 million barrels a day in August, as the United States became the world's supplier of last resort.
Sources
AAA, via CBS News, 22 September 2026: record national average diesel of $6.53 a gallon on 22 September, up 77% year on year.
AAA national average gas prices page, 28 September 2026: diesel current average $6.4531, yesterday $6.4709, week ago $6.5107.
U.S. Energy Information Administration weekly survey released 22 September, via FleetOwner, 23 September 2026: on-highway diesel average $6.529, up 24 cents in a week and $2.78 year on year. FleetOwner put AAA's national average at $6.528.
Bloomberg (Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Nathan Risser), published late on 25 September 2026, U.S. Eastern time: Cruz says the White House offered assurances there will be no export ban. The article carries Wright's Heatmap remarks and the record of $6.53.
Bloomberg (María Paula Mijares Torres), 27 September 2026: Trump says he is "very seriously" looking at a ban. The article also covers farm-state lawmakers' requests, the administration's analysis of a short-term ban, record exports near 2 million barrels a day, and retail prices around $6.50.
Politico (Charlie Cooper and Dan Bloom), 27 September 2026: Reynolds calls a U.S. ban "a significant concern." The UK gets around one-sixth of its diesel from the U.S.
Politico (Joshua Berlinger), 24 September 2026: Macron says he urged Trump against a 90-day ban. U.S. shipments make up more than half of EU diesel imports.
Reuters, 3 September 2026: GasBuddy's U.S. national average diesel at a record $5.820, above the 17 June 2022 high of $5.819.
Reuters, 17 August 2026: the U.S. diesel crack hit an all-time high of $102.20 a barrel as supply disruption from the wars in Iran and Ukraine ran into peak agricultural demand. Middle Eastern diesel exports hit by Hormuz shipping disruption; Russia banned international sales through January after Ukrainian attacks on its refineries.
Also reporting the 3 September record: AP News, USA Today, Inquirer.com.
Photograph: Flying J diesel pumps in Tacoma, Washington (Robert F. W. Whitlock, 5 August 2008, CC BY 2.0).
Why it matters
Diesel powers farm equipment, freight trains, trucks and delivery vans, Bloomberg noted, so the price feeds into food and goods costs as well as fuel bills. The export question matters beyond the United States. Bloomberg reported that a halt would leave allies including Brazil and the UK urgently needing to secure fuel. Some companies are already adding contract protections in case a pause stops deliveries to foreign buyers, it said. Bloomberg also reported that, in the event of a ban, U.S. diesel prices would be widely expected to plummet, at least in the short run. Energy experts quoted by CBS News warned that a ban could instead backfire and push prices higher by worsening the global supply crunch.
How it is being framed
The pump price is a record. AAA put the national average at $6.53 on 22 September. The previous record, on GasBuddy's measure, was $5.820 on 3 September, which broke the June 2022 high of $5.819.
Supply is squeezed. The Iran conflict and Hormuz disruption, plus Russia's diesel export ban, have removed barrels from the distillate pool.
Inflation could follow. Diesel feeds freight costs and so goods prices, ahead of the September CPI report and the Federal Reserve's 27–28 October meeting. That is an indirect path, not a forecast on this page.
Refiners' margins are a separate story from the pump price. Reuters reported the U.S. diesel crack at an all-time high of $102.20 a barrel on 17 August.
The export question is its own fight. Trump says he is looking at a ban very seriously. Cruz relays White House assurances that there will be no ban, Wright says there will be no blanket ban, and the UK and France are warning against one.
Reporting versus inference
Reporting is: AAA put the national average at $6.53 a gallon on 22 September 2026, a record, and the EIA's weekly survey put it at $6.529. That followed GasBuddy's record of $5.820 on 3 September, above the 17 June 2022 high of $5.819. Reuters, AP News and USA Today reported that record. Trump says he is looking at a ban very seriously. Cruz says the White House assured the industry there will be no ban. Wright says exports will not stop but flows may be adjusted. The UK and France have warned against a ban. Bloomberg reported on 25 September that the administration had not settled on a single approach.
Inference, labeled as such: a record pump average is not yet a CPI print, a Fed decision, or a sustained crack. A national average is not the price at every station, and the AAA daily series, the EIA weekly survey and GasBuddy's live average are separate benchmarks. The administration is speaking with more than one voice. Neither Trump's remarks nor Cruz's account is a formal announcement.
What may follow
Reasoning, not a forecast.
A formal White House, Energy Department or Commerce Department announcement would settle whether any restriction is mandatory or voluntary, nationwide or limited, and how long it lasts. The next AAA and EIA readings will show whether the national average holds near $6.50 or falls back. If supply is the driver, the next test is a new Hormuz attack or a change in Russia's diesel export ban. If inflation follows, the September CPI will show freight or energy passthrough. If refiner margins are the story, U.S. refiners will report elevated distillate cracks in the next earnings window. European buyers booking replacement cargoes, or new statements from London, Paris or Brasília, would show how seriously allies take the threat. Suspending the federal diesel excise tax, which Bloomberg said oil CEOs and industry groups have pushed for instead, is a possible alternative.
What remains unresolved
Whether Trump orders a ban, voluntary curbs or neither. Whether the record holds through the harvest window. How much of the move is Iran-linked disruption versus Russia versus seasonal harvest demand. How allies that rely on U.S. diesel would replace it if exports stopped. Whether the spike shows up in CPI and in the Fed's October decision.
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Corrections
If a source or an inference on this page is wrong, we correct it here. contact@watchfuleye.us.
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