US diesel prices fell below $6 a gallon on Saturday for the first time in two months, offering relief to truckers, farmers and businesses after a surge that pushed fuel costs to record highs and helped drive inflation.
The national average retail diesel price was $5.998 on Saturday, according to fuel price tracker GasBuddy. Diesel had topped $6 a gallon on 10 September and reached a record $6.519 on 22 September, having broken the previous record on 3 September at $5.820.
The surge followed disruption to oil supplies from the US-Israeli war against Iran and Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries, which stymied production. In California, where refining capacity is constrained and fuel specifications are stricter than elsewhere in the country, diesel prices briefly exceeded $10 a gallon.
Elevated diesel prices, a key driver of transport and freight costs, fed into overall inflation and squeezed consumers, farmers and businesses. High fuel costs were a major factor helping Democrats sweep both houses of Congress from President Donald Trump’s Republicans in this month’s midterm elections.
The Trump administration introduced several measures aimed at easing costs, including temporarily lifting federal taxes on red-dyed diesel, easing sanctions on Russian fuel and launching an $8 billion support programme to help farmers offset higher fuel costs during the autumn harvest. Those measures provided only limited relief while supply concerns caused by the ongoing Iran war continued to dominate the market.
Seasonal factors and a drop in crude oil prices are now helping bring prices down. Brent crude futures are down 18.5 per cent over the past two weeks. Demand typically softens in the autumn as people drive less, hurricane season winds down and the risk of Gulf Coast refinery disruptions declines, said Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis. Refinery maintenance is also largely completed by November, allowing production rates to recover, he said.
Petrol prices have eased too, falling below $4 per gallon this month for the first time since 10 August, according to GasBuddy data.
Sources: Reuters, “US diesel below $6 a gallon at 2-month low on easing tensions, weaker demand”, https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-diesel-below-6-gallon-2-month-low-easing-tensions-weaker-demand-2026-11-15/
