Business & Finance

U.S. diesel prices reach $5.69 a gallon amid global refinery disruptions

Strikes on foreign facilities and low domestic inventories have pushed diesel costs to multi-decade seasonal extremes.

Updated Sep 2, 2026 · 18:18 UTC1 reports

The short version

Average nationwide diesel prices rose to $5.69 per gallon, representing a 54% jump compared to September 2025.
Refinery outages in the Middle East and Russia, combined with U.S. stockpiles dropping to levels not seen since the 1980s, drove the surge.
The White House met with domestic refining executives to explore measures for expanding production capacity as economists warn of downstream food inflation.

AAA data shows the nationwide average price of diesel reached $5.69 per gallon, increasing 33 cents in a month and 54% over the prior year.[NBC News]
The Energy Information Administration reported that late August U.S. diesel stockpiles fell to seasonal lows not seen since the 1980s.[NBC News]
Analysts attributed tightening diesel supplies to Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refining infrastructure alongside earlier Middle East strikes.[NBC News]
U.S. refiners expanded exports of diesel and related fuels by approximately 28% over the preceding 12 months.[NBC News]
President Donald Trump convened approximately a dozen major oil refiners to discuss potential regulatory adjustments and ways to expand refining capacity.[NBC News]

Specific policy or regulatory mechanisms under consideration by the administration to increase refining capacity have not been disclosed.[NBC News]
The extent to which retailers and agricultural producers will absorb fuel costs versus passing them on to consumer food prices remains to be seen.[NBC News]