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The G7 agreed to release 100 million barrels of oil and diesel in a bid to ease supply pressures that have sent prices soaring.
The group of advanced economies, including the United States, said the move would include a “substantial release” of diesel in the coming days.
President Donald Trump had threatened to ban diesel exports in a move that would have eased pressure on prices for US consumers ahead of November’s midterm elections, but pushed up prices elsewhere.
In a joint statement, the G7 said member countries had now agreed to “reject export restrictions on energy and energy products” on each other.
The G7 includes the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy and France, with the EU also represented at its meetings.
Trump had warned that he would ban diesel exports from the United States if European countries did not agree to bring more of their own stock to the market.
On Friday, he said on social media: “Europe has just agreed to release a massive amount of its heavily stockpiled diesel oil. The process will begin immediately.”
His Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had argued that US farmers, truckers and businesses “should not be burdened” as prices rise.
Diesel is used heavily by the transport industry and in agriculture, which means the cost of fuel increases through and essentials like food go up.
But after a meeting of G7 leaders, French President Emmanuel Macron said the bloc had agreed to release reserves of “up to 100 million barrels” within four months under the coordination of the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Britain was represented at the meeting by Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who said the measures would “stabilise energy supplies, build resilience in supply chains and protect households and businesses from price shocks”.
Macron said the coordinated action would “bring down the prices of petroleum products, especially diesel”. Underscoring the agreement not to pursue the export ban, Macron said “President Trump, in particular, was very clear on this point”.
Speaking at the White House, Trump later said an export ban on diesel was “never really on the table.”
In the joint statement, the G7 leaders said: “We will implement our commitments with a coordinated release through the IEA of 100 million barrels to start immediately over four months, including a frontloaded substantial diesel release within the first 20 days by G7 members and partners.”
It is not yet clear which partner countries will release the shares and how quickly.
The 100 million barrels consist of a mixture of diesel and crude oil. The price of the global benchmark Brent crude briefly fell below $100 a barrel, but rose to around $102 by Friday evening. Before the US and Israel attacked Iran, it was trading at around $73.
Matt Smith, Director of Commodities Research at Kpler, said that oil rose again due to renewed strikes between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis in Yemen.
“Oil prices had sold off strongly due to the announcement of strategic stock releases in Europe, but they reversed course on rumors of Saudi Arabia planning an offensive in Yemen, as it looks to re-establish a safe route via Bab-Al Mandeb,” he said.
European countries have pushed back against US threats to shut down American diesel, against a backdrop of the US-led war in the Middle East and reduced supplies from Russia and China.
The G7 leaders said they would also coordinate maintenance plans to avoid shutting down multiple refineries at the same time, while encouraging countries with the capacity to do so to ramp up diesel refining in particular.
