The UK is lobbying Washington to scrap a potential ban on US diesel exports, the BBC reported, as the White House weighs tax relief on red-dyed diesel, the fuel reserved for farm and construction equipment that is exempt from state and federal taxes. President Trump said Sunday that a ban remains a top option to bring down record prices, telling Fox News: "We're thinking about it very seriously. That can often times lead to a little bit of an increase on gasoline for cars, so we're looking at it very seriously. We may do it." US diesel hit an all-time high of $6.53 a gallon this month.

UK Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said a full ban would be a "significant concern" for Britain, which sources about one-sixth of its diesel from the US, though he stressed the UK has a diverse fuel supply. British stocks would cover only about 42 days of normal imports, and the country has gone from 18 refineries in the 1970s to four today, the Telegraph reported. TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne said Europe would have "no other alternative" than tapping strategic reserves of refined products if the ban goes ahead, and called the discussion of a ban a bad idea that would probably backfire through gasoline prices.

Farm-state lawmakers including Senator Chuck Grassley have urged Trump to embargo diesel exports as Iowa prices hit $6.57. Combined with Russia's restriction of most of its 783,000 barrels a day of diesel exports since July, a US ban would remove about 2 million barrels a day from an 8.2 million barrel daily export market, roughly a quarter of globally traded diesel, according to energy analyst Jack Prandelli. Goldman Sachs estimates each week of a ban would cut US diesel prices about 25 cents a gallon until storage fills, after which refiners would trim runs and add about 30 cents a gallon to gasoline. GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan said export controls would do little to bring prices down and would send the market a chilling signal.