Authored by Tsvetana Paraskova via OilPrice.com,
Russia's government on Wednesday extended the ban on exports of diesel, marine fuel, and gasoil for all fuel producers by October 31, which effectively extends the period in which the tightening global market will have to cope without Russian diesel shipments for another month.
The government took the decision to extend the ban, which has been in place since the summer, "to maintain a stable situation on the domestic fuel market, including to meet higher demand for fuel during the harvest season."
Russia has been extending the ban on diesel and other fuel exports by one month for months as Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries are crippling domestic fuel production.
Ukraine continues its campaign to cripple Russian refining capacity, fuel supply, and export revenues.
Russia has been suffering from a gasoline and diesel crunch since the spring, when Ukraine intensified its drone attacks at Russian refineries, aiming to cripple fuel supply to the front lines and to the domestic Russian market.
The Russian ban on diesel exports has added to the Middle East crisis to tighten global middle distillate markets.
Before the ban on exports, Russia's diesel shipments accounted for about 10% of global seaborne diesel supply.
The disappearance of Russian diesel added to the slow and uneven exit of fuel cargoes out of the Strait of Hormuz and reduced refinery operations in the Middle East following several Iranian strikes at Gulf refineries at the start of the war.
"We have 7 million barrels a day of refineries down in Asia and the Middle East and another 1.4 million barrels down in Russia. And the refineries, depending on the damage and the ability to get spare parts, are going to take a good long time to get back online," Brian Mandell, Executive Vice President of Marketing & Commercial at Phillips 66, said on the Q2 earnings call in early August.
The limited supply from Russia and the Middle East has sent retail diesel prices to record highs, including in the United States, where the average price of diesel is $6.41 per gallon as of September 30.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
Tyler Durden Thu, 10/01/2026 - 05:00Diesel prices have exploded over the past month, creating another major cost shock for an industry that was already operating on thin margins. The national average climbed from roughly $5.60 per gallon at the end of August to a record $6.53 in late September, an increase of about 17% in just a few weeks. Prices have eased slightly from that peak, but the EIA’s latest weekly reading still puts diesel at $6.38 per gallon, compared with $5.60 at the end of August.
Now the financial damage is beginning to show up. Sixteen American trucking companies have entered bankruptcy proceedings in less than a month, affecting more than 250 jobs, according to FreightWaves and the Independent. Eight filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, allowing them to continue operating while restructuring their debts, while seven entered Chapter 7 and are liquidating their assets and shutting down.
Among the larger companies seeking Chapter 11 protection are Xoco Transport and Globemaster. Neither specified the cause of its financial problems in federal court filings, and diesel is hardly the industry's only problem. Carriers have also been grappling with rising labor, insurance, maintenance and regulatory costs, while seasonal slowdowns can leave them without enough revenue to absorb those increases.
But the sudden surge in fuel costs adds another layer of pressure because trucking companies have limited options when diesel jumps this quickly. They can absorb the expense and sacrifice margins, pass it through with higher freight rates and risk losing business, or cut workers and equipment. The latter can keep a company alive temporarily, but it also reduces shipping capacity and the amount of revenue the carrier can generate.
And for now, there is little reason to consider the diesel problem resolved. Prices remain near historic highs and are still heavily tied to the war with Iran and the resulting disruption to global energy supplies.
Even as crude shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have begun recovering, refined-product flows remain constrained, inventories have been depleted and damaged Middle Eastern refining infrastructure continues to limit supply. Until those disruptions ease materially, diesel remains another major transmission mechanism through which the Iran war is feeding directly into the U.S. economy.
Tyler Durden Thu, 10/01/2026 - 04:15The Israel military's Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has canceled a planned trip to the US due to a "sensitive security situation," Israeli news outlet i24 reported on 30 September.
There is "increased alertness" in the army, said i24 military analyst Yossi Yehoshua. "The decision to cancel the trip was made by the military's top echelon even before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statements yesterday regarding threats to Israel," the report added.
Image source: IDFA senior Israeli army source told i24, "You can't put the military on alert and fly abroad."
Zamir was scheduled to hold multiple meetings with the commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM).
"The talks were intended to deal with joint security coordination and preparations for developments in the region. Nevertheless, the state of high alert declared in the operational units of the [military], alongside the need for close management of readiness on the ground, determined that at this time the chief of staff must remain in Israel," the outlet wrote.
A FlyDubai jet headed from Dubai to Tel Aviv landed in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after the Emirati pilot was attacked by his Omani copilot – reportedly in an effort to crash the plane.
Opposition figures in Israel accuse Netanyahu of exaggerating a routine security warning weeks before the election to shift attention toward national security.
Security officials reportedly questioned the public warning and said there was no concrete intelligence linking an… pic.twitter.com/w2Bpn6r9nu
Hebrew media reports say Tel Aviv is suspecting it was an "attempted terror attack."
One day before the incident took place, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a security establishment assessment and talks with opposition leader Yair Lapid over an alleged, pre-Israeli election "security threat" that the premier had announced earlier on Tuesday.
"There are signs our enemies will try to attack us ahead of election," Netanyahu had announced on Tuesday.
"Don’t mess with us, not now and not ever. Our long arm will reach you anywhere and at any time," he added.
Netanyahu’s threats coincide with a US military buildup of around 50,000 troops deployed across West Asia.
🇮🇱 Israeli PM Netanyahu secretly met UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed on Sunday and asked him to deny that he warned Netanyahu of a major Hamas attack days before October 7, a source with firsthand knowledge told Haaretz.
Haaretz reported this month that bin Zayed spent 45… https://t.co/gNUKMe5e3O pic.twitter.com/aX64iYiEc8
Reports have said that US President Donald Trump plans to renew bombardment of the Islamic Republic after mid-term elections.
Tyler Durden Thu, 10/01/2026 - 03:30