US Treasury Clears Russian Diesel for 180 Days With Pump Prices at 6.199 Dollars a Gallon
The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued Russia-related General License 135 on 9 October, authorizing transactions tied to the sale, delivery, offloading and importation of diesel fuel of Russian Federation origin until 04:01 GMT on 7 April 2027, a window of 180 days on our calculation. It arrives with the US average retail diesel price at 6.199 dollars a gallon on 5 October and, on our calculation, with that price 67.04 percent above a year earlier and national distillate stocks 13.51 percent below their level of 12 months before.
What General License 135 covers, and what it leaves in place
The license runs to a single page. It authorizes transactions otherwise barred by two sets of rules, the Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations (31 CFR part 587) and the Ukraine-/Russia-Related Sanctions Regulations (31 CFR part 589), where they relate to the sale, delivery, offloading or importation of Russian-origin diesel, “including importation into the United States”. The document is dated 9 October 2026 and signed by OFAC Director Bradley T. Smith.
One limit is written into the text. Paragraph (b) withholds authorization for any debit to an account on the books of a US financial institution belonging to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the National Wealth Fund of the Russian Federation or the Ministry of Finance, so the license gives no cover for payments drawn from those accounts. Its other bounds follow from the wording of paragraph (a): the authorization covers diesel fuel of Russian Federation origin only, names no crude oil, gasoline, jet fuel or other refined product, and reaches only transactions prohibited by parts 587 and 589.
The volumes come from an announcement, not from the license. President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that Russia would supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel immediately, 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons after that, followed by a further 3 million tons depending on the condition of its refineries, CNBC reported. The first three tranches total at least 1.8 million tons on our calculation, and the full schedule at least 4.8 million.
Retail diesel sits above the 2022 peak for a fifth straight week
US diesel prices, with gasoline for comparison
| Measure | Dollars per gallon | Week or day |
|---|---|---|
| Retail diesel, US average | $6.199 | 5 Oct 2026 |
| Record weekly high | $6.529 | 21 Sep 2026 |
| Previous peak | $5.810 | 20 Jun 2022 |
| Year earlier | $3.711 | 6 Oct 2025 |
| Retail regular gasoline | $4.354 | 5 Oct 2026 |
| New York Harbor ULSD spot | $4.713 | 6 Oct 2026 |
Retail prices include all taxes. The weekly retail series begins in March 1994; the record and the previous peak are our count across the full series. ULSD is ultra-low-sulfur diesel.
Weekly data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) put the 5 October price at 6.199 dollars, the fifth straight weekly reading above the June 2022 peak of 5.810 dollars, which had stood as the series high until September. On our calculation the price is 0.330 dollars, or 5.05 percent, below the 21 September record of 6.529 dollars, so the retail market had already turned lower before the license was signed. The rise over the past year remains large: 2.488 dollars above the year-earlier price and, on our calculation, 59.07 percent above the 3.897 dollars of 2 March 2026, the week before a single-week jump to 4.859 dollars.
Diesel’s premium over gasoline is where the tightness shows. On our calculation the gap of 1.845 dollars a gallon leaves retail diesel 42.37 percent dearer than regular gasoline. Upstream, New York Harbor ULSD fell 5.72 percent on our calculation in the week to 6 October, from 4.999 dollars a gallon to 4.713 dollars. Converted at 42 gallons to the barrel, the 6 October price stood 101.71 dollars a barrel above the same day’s West Texas Intermediate spot price of 96.24 dollars a barrel on our calculation. On our calculation the pump price, which includes all taxes, stood 1.571 dollars a gallon above the harbor price of 4.628 dollars on 5 October.
Regional prices span 2.383 dollars a gallon on our calculation, from 5.699 dollars in the Lower Atlantic region to 8.082 dollars in California.
Thin stocks, and a country that exports diesel
US distillate stocks, million barrels
| Region | 2 Oct 2026 | 3 Oct 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 105.138 | 121.559 |
| East Coast (PADD 1) | 21.687 | 30.187 |
End-of-week stocks. On our calculation the US total is 13.51 percent lower and the East Coast 28.16 percent lower than a year earlier.
US distillate balance, week to 2 October 2026
| Flow | Thousand barrels a day |
|---|---|
| Refinery and blender output | 5,290 |
| Product supplied | 3,650 |
| Exports | 1,764 |
| Imports | 118 |
| Imports into the East Coast | 84 |
Weekly estimates. Net exports of 1,646 thousand barrels a day are our calculation.
National distillate stocks were unchanged on the week by the agency’s description, at 105.138 million barrels, and 12 percent below the five-year average for the time of year. On our calculation they are 11.29 percent below the same week of 2024, though 4.30 percent above this year’s low of 100.799 million barrels on 22 May. The weekly report puts their cover at 27.9 days of supply.
The shortfall is sharpest on the East Coast. On our calculation, East Coast stocks of 21.687 million barrels are 35.50 percent below early October 2024 and make up 20.63 percent of the national total. The EIA’s October Short-Term Energy Outlook put East Coast inventories 32 percent below their five-year seasonal average in September.
On our reading, the flow figures show why the license bears more on the world market than on US import volumes. The United States was a net exporter of distillate in the week to 2 October: on our calculation exports took 33.35 percent of domestic output, while imports met 3.23 percent of product supplied, and 71.19 percent of those imports went to the East Coast.
Why it matters: The October outlook expects heating oil prices more than 30 percent above last winter and heating oil spending 21 percent higher for the households that use it, mostly in the Northeast. General License 135 removes a US legal barrier to buying Russian diesel for 180 days; it adds no barrels by itself. Any effect on prices depends on how much Russia actually ships and how much of it reaches the East Coast.
Outlook: Completed on 1 October, the outlook predates the license. It forecasts retail diesel at an average of 5.19 dollars a gallon for 2026, up from 5.07 dollars a month earlier, and 4.49 dollars for 2027, which is 27.57 percent below the latest weekly price on our calculation. It expects East Coast inventories to rise gradually as global tightness eases, coming close to their five-year average in the second half of 2027. The next weekly retail price reading is due on 14 October and the next weekly inventory report on Thursday 15 October from 16:00 GMT, moved because federal offices close on Monday 12 October. The next outlook is due on 10 November, and the license expires at 04:01 GMT on 7 April 2027.
Sources: US Treasury, US Energy Information Administration, CNBC, BBC, The Edge.
