President Trump signed an executive order late Monday allowing tax-free red-dyed diesel on US highways through the end of the year, deferring the 24.4-cent federal excise tax with no interest or penalties, as diesel sits at $6.32 a gallon - up 77% this year and near its $6.53 record. The White House says truckers could save over $100 per refill, with officials directed to explore wiping the deferred taxes entirely, the White House and CNN reported.
Diesel's run is historic: from $3.76 before the Iran war to Monday's $6.32, the steepest annual surge since AAA began tracking in 2000. A 250-gallon truck fill now costs about $1,575 - a figure strangling farmers, fleets and supply chains five weeks before the midterms.
Trump blames refineries, not Hormuz
Trump's diagnosis pointed away from the Gulf: Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries plus closures in Democratic-led states like California, he said, with "record numbers of barrels" now flowing through Hormuz. That framing - refineries, not crude - is why he ruled out the diesel export ban he floated last month after Europe agreed to release 100 million barrels of emergency fuel, Newsweek reported.
Aramco: stocks 'scarily thin,' rebuild takes two years
The world's biggest oil producer disagrees that the crisis is over. Aramco CEO Amin Nasser, in his first speech since the war began, said nearly 3 billion barrels of supply have been erased - half the normal Hormuz flow - leaving under 6 billion barrels of commercial stocks, the vast majority not practically available. Under 10% of global inventories can actually be used, and rebuilding takes up to two years even after Hormuz fully reopens: "Emergency reserves might buy us a winter. They cannot fix long-term supply." Standard Chartered echoes the caution, calling Hormuz flows "far from normal," OilPrice and the Irish Times reported.
Brent reflects the split: up 0.4% to $100.70 on Tuesday as risk premium offsets recovering flows and Aramco's deepened Asian discounts, Trading Economics data showed. Tax relief trims the pump price - it doesn't refine a single barrel.