Road fuels
Overview
Fuels for road transportation continue to drive the refining industry. But gasoline and diesel use is coming under increasing pressure from the introduction of low-carbon targets around the world.
Global oversupply, new regulatory measures and rapidly increasing competition for export markets are affecting refining margins. The need for accurate insight and data is more critical than ever.
Argus road fuels coverage includes price assessments and key insights into conventional fuels — gasoline, middle distillates and blending components — as well as biofuels, in each key region. Our trusted prices are delivered alongside the latest market-moving news, in-depth analysis, supply and demand dynamics, price forecasts and forward curves data.
Latest road fuels news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global road fuels industry.
Australia to underwrite refiners' spot fuel trades
Australia to underwrite refiners' spot fuel trades
Sydney, 10 April (Argus) — Australian government agency Export Finance Australia (EFA) will underwrite the financial risk of spot-market fuel and crude oil purchases by refiners Viva Energy and Ampol to support the country's fuel imports, energy minister Chris Bowen announced on 9 April. Under the agreement, the government will be able to direct where the additional fuel is distributed, prioritising regions facing tighter supply. The EFA is also finalising similar agreements with other companies. Government support will enable refiners to secure cargoes that would otherwise be considered uncommercial because of volatile prices and high spot-market costs. The EFA will update its public register with each transaction, Bowen said on 10 April. This falls under legislation passed last week that allowed the EFA to underwrite critical imports such as fuel and fertilizer, reducing the commercial risk for buyers as part of efforts to manage supply pressures linked to Iran's effective blockade of the strait of Hormuz. Under the legislation, the EFA can insure, indemnify, guarantee, lend, or enter into other arrangements including with third parties to support activities such as buying, selling, transporting, or storing a strategic material. Gasoil, jet fuel, crude oil and fuel oil are listed as strategic materials, as well as "any material experiencing supply chain disruptions". Australia's oil products demand averages nearly 1.1mn b/d, but its refineries supply only about one-fifth of that. This leaves the country heavily dependent on imports, leading to supply concerns since the US–Iran conflict began in late February. Ampol's 109,000 b/d Lytton refinery in Brisbane and Viva's 120,000 b/d Geelong refinery are the country's only major operating refineries. By Grace Dudley Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Japan to ease oil bottleneck, ensure stable supply
Japan to ease oil bottleneck, ensure stable supply
Osaka, 10 April (Argus) — The Japanese government has moved to ensure stable supplies of oil products, some of which have faced distribution bottlenecks, while noting that overall fuel supply remains sufficient nationwide despite disruptions to Middle East crude flows. Concerns over securing supplies of oil products are growing among a wide range of industries in Japan, as bottlenecks emerge at the distribution stage. Heavy fuel oil and diesel are no longer as readily procured as they had been in the past, an official at the trade and industry ministry Meti said on 9 April. The government has already requested refiners and importers to ensure stable supplies regardless of whether customers are affiliated or not and regardless of whether business relationships exist, Meti said after a task force meeting held on 9 April to ensure the stable supply of critical goods against a backdrop of tensions in the Middle East. Tokyo has asked major refiners, including Eneos, Idemitsu and Cosmo Oil, to conduct direct sales to task force-designated critical facilities, including those in the medical, transportation, public services, agriculture, fisheries, livestock and essential goods manufacturing sectors. Refiners, as well as wholesale distributors, should supply volumes at levels equal to that of the same month a year earlier as a guideline, Tokyo said. The government will not intervene with contract negotiations between refiners and consumers, the official said when Argus asked whether new agreements between refiners and consumers will follow existing terms including pricing and other conditions aside from volumes. It remains unclear why the bottleneck has emerged, even though overall supply volumes across Japan should be sufficient, the official said. Meti is assessing the cause of the problem but has no plan to compile a report, as the government prioritises addressing the situation. The government will work to increase crude processing and expect refiners to strengthen their own response frameworks, the official said. Japan sold 2.5mn b/d of refined products in February, before the onset of the Middle East conflict, according to the latest data from Meti. Sales of gasoil and fuel oil averaged 543,700 b/d and 282,000 b/d, respectively. Japan sees no immediate risk of disruption to oil products in the domestic market, as it makes use of private-sector and government stockpiles and boosts alternative imports. Tokyo on 10 April decided to release an additional 20 days' worth of crude oil from its national reserves from early May, following earlier releases equivalent to 30 days from the national stockpile, 15 days from private stockpiles and six days under a joint stockpile programme with oil producing countries. Japan has sufficient oil supplies to last beyond the end of this year , prime minister Sanae Takaichi said on 7 April. In addition to petroleum products, the task force is also working to ease bottlenecks in petroleum-derived medical supplies and paint thinners. By Motoko Hasegawa Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Diesel supplies to Poland's ports at record in March
Diesel supplies to Poland's ports at record in March
Kyiv, 9 April (Argus) — Seaborne diesel and gasoil supplies to Poland's Baltic Sea ports reached all- time highs in March, following a maintenance turnaround at the 210,000 b/d Gdansk refinery and market volatility arising from the Mideast Gulf war. Diesel arrivals were almost 776,000t in March, exceeding the record 667,000t of May 2022, Vortexa data show. State-owned Orlen, Aramco Fuels Poland, Unimot, Select Energy, BP and Oktan Energy shipped diesel to Poland's ports in March, market participants said. The first two emerged as the biggest importers, increasing purchases in March because of a planned turnaround at the Gdansk refinery, which is operated by a 70:30 joint venture of Orlen and Saudi state-controlled Aramco, and because of the uncertainty about diesel supplies from the Middle East conflict. Diesel deliveries to Gdansk surged to 308,000t in March from 54,000t in February. Market participants said Orlen imported six diesel cargoes to Gdansk last month. Deliveries to the port of Gdynia, the main import hub for independent traders in Poland, were almost 290,000t, and supplies to Swinoujscie-Szczecin accounted for 177,600t. Poland received seaborne diesel from the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) region, the US, Finland and Sweden. Prices for seaborne diesel on a cif Gdynia basis in the second half of March fluctuated between $96.75/t and $127.75/t cif premiums to front-month Ice April gasoil futures. Polish companies exported seaborne diesel to Ukraine, mostly from Swinoujscie-Szczecin and Gdynia. Poland sold 160,500t of diesel delivered via Polish ports to Ukraine in March from 138,000t in February, according to market participants. Cumulative diesel imports to the Polish ports were 1.34mn t in January-March, up from 730,500t in the same period in 2025. By Ivan Kudinov Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US-Iran ceasefire weighs on European oil product prices
US-Iran ceasefire weighs on European oil product prices
London, 8 April (Argus) — European middle distillate and gasoline prices have dropped on Wednesday, 8 April, after the US and Iran agreed overnight to a two-week ceasefire that could see oil flow resume through the strait of Hormuz, but prices remain well above pre-war levels. Front-month Ice April gasoil futures dropped by 18.3pc to $1,247.75/t at 10:30 BST (09:30 GMT). The contract serves as the underlying price against which European diesel and jet cargoes and barges trade. Benchmark non-oxy gasoline barges were trading at $945.50/t at the same time, down by 9.9pc from the close on 7 April. Front-month Ice gasoil futures and benchmark non-oxy gasoline barges prices were still higher than pre-war levels of $752.75/t and $690/t on 27 February, respectively. The drop in European oil product prices has followed a sharp decline in front-month Ice Brent futures values, which fell 15.1pc since 7 April to trade at $94.04/bl at 10:30 BST. European middle distillate values have fallen more steeply than gasoline on the ceasefire news, given that the continent is a net importer of the former and a net exporter of the latter. Diesel and jet arrivals from the Mideast Gulf respectively made up around a fifth and half of total EU, UK and Norwegian imports last year, according to Kpler. The US and Iran said on 7 April that they would halt hostilities for a two-week period to finalise a peace deal. But their public statements differ on the status of navigation through the strait of Hormuz and uncertainty regarding vessel transit remains. The effective closure of the strait of Hormuz since the US-Israel war against Iran began on 28 February has weighed on loadings of diesel and jet from the Mideast Gulf over March. Arrivals are expected to ease this month, reflecting lower March cargo bookings from the Mideast Gulf that would typically now be starting to reach European ports. The drop in Ice gasoil futures is unlikely to translate into a rise in distillate bookings from the Mideast Gulf to European ports for now. The east-west gasoil paper spread remains at a discount, meaning that Europe would still struggle to compete for available volumes from the Mideast Gulf and India. The spread between Ice gasoil and Singapore gasoil swaps has narrowed somewhat on the session to a discount of around $150/t, according to one trader, down from around $210/t. The US remains a more likely source for European diesel imports, one European diesel trader told Argus , given that the spread between US Gulf coast and northwest European diesel values is much narrower. Europe's gasoline values have also risen since the war began, even though the region is a net exporter of the fuel. This is because of tighter east of Suez availability of crude and naphtha and condensates from the Mideast Gulf. Traders have booked numerous cargoes to ship European gasoline and gasoline blending feedstock naphtha to destinations east of Suez since the war broke out, likely bidding up European gasoline values to secure fixtures for destinations in Asia-Pacific. The ceasefire announcement has had little effect so far on the current structure in the European distillate and gasoline markets. The Ice gasoil futures structure remained in steep backwardation, with front-month at a $110.75/t premium to the second-month contract at 10:30 BST, compared with a $9.75/t spread on 27 February. The Eurobob oxy gasoline swap curve was showing front-month May swaps at a premium of $29.25/t over second-month June swaps Wednesday morning. The Eurobob oxy gasoline structure is typically in contango at this time of year as traders price in greater demand and blending costs from May onwards. By George Maher-Bonnett and Josh Michalowski Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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