Russia Shut the Diesel Tap and Prices Jumped Worldwide: the War Reaches Our Fuel Tank

Russia pulled one lever and diesel prices around the world jumped at once. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak announced that the country is suspending diesel exports in order to stabilise the domestic market and fix fuel shortages at home - and the consequences were felt within hours.

The numbers are brutal. The price of diesel in the US jumped by over 13 percent, while on the London exchange futures jumped by 14 percent, reaching 1,114 dollars per tonne. The reason is simple: Russia is the world’s second-largest diesel exporter, and other refineries do not have enough spare capacity to quickly replace the Russian supply. When the second-largest supplier shuts the tap, the whole market shakes.

And it does not end there. The decision came almost at the same time as Donald Trump’s move to scrap the temporary sanctions waivers for Iranian oil - a double blow that only deepened the market’s uncertainty. Analysts are warning of further price hikes if the ban drags on or if supply from other sources is disrupted.

And who pays in the end? As always - the ordinary person at the petrol pump. Hungary and other European countries dependent on diesel imports are already facing unavoidable price rises. Here at home, where fuel prices are a sensitive subject anyway, shocks like this arrive fast and without warning. A war that looks distant has a very concrete way of reaching our plate and our fuel tank - and we, as usual, just watch the numbers on the pump climb.