By Kate Abnett
BRUSSELS, Oct 2 (Reuters) – European Union countries discussed a French proposal on Friday to release diesel stocks in response to US pressure to help cool surging fuel prices, two sources familiar with details of the discussion told Reuters.
In a call on Friday, EU governments discussed the French proposal, under which European countries would release 50 million barrels of diesel and International Energy Agency members would release 50 million barrels of crude oil, the sources said.
France’s finance and energy ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reuters reported on Thursday that the Trump administration had told Germany and France to draw down emergency diesel inventories or face a potential US diesel export ban, according to three people close to the discussions.
The US had demanded large European countries including France and Germany release 100 million barrels of diesel within a 20-day window, one of the sources told Reuters on Friday.
US President Donald Trump has said he is considering a potential export ban to help bring down US fuel prices ahead of November 3 midterm elections.
Global diesel supply has been hit by the Iran war and a Russian ban on exports after Ukraine damaged many of its refineries. Chinese refiners have also suspended October fuel exports to bolster domestic stocks, sources said.
In the call on Friday, EU countries discussed that any agreement on further diesel stock releases should include a US commitment to avoid a unilateral diesel export ban, one of the sources said.
G7 country leaders may hold a call on Friday afternoon to discuss their next steps. France currently holds the presidency of the G7.
The 32-member IEA agreed in March to a coordinated the release of 400 million barrels of strategic oil reserves, in response to disruption to supplies caused by the Iran war, the largest such release in history.
(Reporting by Kate Abnett, additional reporting by Forrest Crellin; editing by Kirsten Donovan and Jason Neely)
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