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.
Japan’s petchem supplies to last into next year: PM
Japan’s petchem supplies to last into next year: PM
Tokyo, 1 May (Argus) — Japan's supply of naphtha-derived chemical products is sufficient to last beyond the end of this year, prime minister Sanae Takaichi said. Japanese refiners are continuing to produce domestically refined naphtha, while naphtha imports from countries outside the Middle East — including the US, Algeria and Peru — will treble in May compared with levels before the escalation of geopolitical tension in the Middle East, Takaichi said on 30 April. Naphtha imports from such countries were 900,000 kilolitres (190,000 b/d) in April and will surpass 1.35mn kl in May, according to the trade and industry ministry Meti. Japan has also secured stocks of intermediate chemical products, such as polyethylene and polypropylene, totalling around 1.8 months' worth of use. These procurement efforts and inventory utilisation mean Japan can maintain its supply of naphtha-derived chemical products beyond the end of the year, Takaichi said, up from the previous estimate of over six months made in early April. Japan has secured around 1.4mn b/d of crude oil for May, accounting for around 60pc of the country's requirement based on average 2025 imports of 2.36mn b/d, Takaichi said. The country secured more than 500,000 b/d in April, around 20pc of its needs, according to Meti. Japan has been drawing on its stockpiles to cover its remaining requirements. It began releasing a second batch of oil from its national reserves on 1 May, Meti said today. The ministry previously said on 30 April that the start of this release would be delayed by one day to 2 May. Takaichi also reiterated that Japan has sufficient oil supplies to last beyond the end of this year, taking into account its oil reserves and alternative purchases. Tokyo has been providing fuel subsidies to ease the impact of rising oil prices caused by supply disruptions through the strait of Hormuz, as it aims to cap retail gasoline prices at around ¥170/l ($1.08/l). Japan's nationwide average gasoline price has fallen to ¥170/l, which is half the level in European countries and similar to prices in oil-producer the US, Takaichi stressed. Japan's subsidised retail gasoline prices averaged ¥169.7/l as of 27 April, according to Meti. By Kohei Yamamoto Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
High jet prices could support European gasoline demand
High jet prices could support European gasoline demand
London, 28 April (Argus) — High jet fuel prices and reduced flight schedules could support European gasoline demand this summer as some consumers opt to drive rather than fly for leisure travel, market sources said. The price of jet fuel cargoes delivered to northwest Europe has soared since the US-Iran war began on 28 February, tightening supply to a region where demand exceeds local production capacity. Europe relies on the Mideast Gulf for around half of its jet fuel imports, according to Kpler. Delivered jet fuel cargo prices have averaged around $1,557/t since the conflict began, about 90pc above the five-year average for the period. Gasoline prices have also risen but to a much lesser extent, averaging about $967.75/t on a fob Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp basis, roughly 20pc above the five-year average. Europe is structurally long on gasoline and has not faced supply stress during the conflict so far. Since the war began, jet fuel prices have traded at a premium of around 61pc to gasoline benchmarks, compared with near-parity over the past five years, Argus assessments show. That widening price gap, combined with tighter flight availability, could begin to influence travel choices. While higher airfares alone may not deter consumers, cuts to short-haul flight schedules could prompt more people to seek alternatives to flying abroad this summer. "If short-haul flights continue getting cancelled, people are likely to drive to holiday destinations," one analyst told Argus . Another analyst pointed to fuel duty cuts across parts of Europe as an additional factor that will support gasoline demand. German consumers are delaying road fuel purchases until May to benefit from a temporary energy tax exemption , traders said. Smaller European economies including Sweden and Poland are also cutting fuel duties, while larger markets such as the UK and France have yet to introduce similar measures. "The weather is getting better and people will travel less and less by plane," one gasoline trader said, adding that European gasoline demand "looks ok" compared with east of Suez. By contrast, Asia-Pacific markets have seen sharper demand destruction because of greater exposure to crude and refined product supply from the Mideast Gulf, which remains severely restricted by Iran's effective blockade of the strait of Hormuz. European gasoline demand typically rises seasonally as peak summer approaches. This is usually reflected in the gasoline forward curve, where a contango structure implies strengthening time spreads through spring and summer. But the conflict has flipped the curve into backwardation, signalling stronger prompt market fundamentals. That tighter prompt balance is reflected in active physical trading, with at least 16 benchmark non-oxy gasoline barges exchanged this week and at least 60 oxy barges reported traded. Jet market liquidity, however, remains thin by comparison, while trading activity in physical spot windows has also quietened in recent weeks. "Just a couple of things have been trading," a broker said, potentially reflecting elevated jet fuel prices. Bid-offer spreads in paper markets remain at around $10/t, far wider than the typical 25¢-$1/t range, which may be discouraging counterparties from trading at workable levels. By George Maher-Bonnett Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EU to consider E20 gasoline blend
EU to consider E20 gasoline blend
London, 24 April (Argus) — European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the commission will consider authorising a higher 20pc ethanol blend in gasoline (E20) in the revision of the policy framework for fuels, in a letter to three MEPs this week. Von der Leyen wrote in response to a letter from the three German MEPs — Norbert Lins, Peter Liese and Jens Gieseke — sent in June last year, in which they proposed the accelerated standardisation and market launch of E20 fuel. They said that this higher blend could "make a significant contribution to achieving our climate goals without placing an undue burden on citizens." In her response von der Leyen said that the "the commission confirms the role that higher biofuel blends can play in the decarbonisation of existing fleets". But she also said that the commission would take into account "possible problems related to the suitability of engines of existing vehicles for this fuel, as well as the need to incentivise investment in advanced biofuels". Currently the maximum ethanol blend permitted in the EU is 10pc (E10). Authorising E20 would double the amount of ethanol that could be blended into gasoline, but no timeframe on such a decision was provided. The EU-27 imported more than 1mn t of undenatured ethanol in 2025 , according to Eurostat data. EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen said last month that increasing the uptake of biofuels could substitute fossil fuels and alleviate pressure on markets, when discussing the "potentially prolonged disruption" of oil products supplies caused by the US-Israel war on Iran and resulting closure of the strait of Hormuz. This point was not mentioned by von der Leyen in her letter. The US will allow refiners and retailers to supply E15 gasoline — a higher than usual blend — in some states from May, and will waive other fuel rules as part of attempts to temper pump prices that have surged because of the war. Argentina has done the same , while some Asia-Pacific countries are considering increasing blending levels. In Europe, indirect effects of the war caused ethanol prices to rise . Average 75pc greenhouse gas emissions-saving crop-based ethanol hit its highest since September 2022 on 13 April. Romania has decided to remove the requirement to blend 8pc biofuels into gasoline because it pushes prices for the fuel up. Prior to the Iran war, the European ethanol market was already structurally short coming into the year. And member states' mandated targets continue to increase under the EU's latest Renewable Energy Directive (RED III). But provisional application of the EU-Mercosur interim Trade Agreement is set to begin on 1 May , a deal that will allow reduced import tariffs on a total of 200,000 t/yr to be phased in incrementally across six years. Rising bio-mandates for road fuels are likely to add further pressure to the already waning demand for European gasoline. Europe's primary export outlets — the US Atlantic coast and west Africa — have reduced their reliance on European gasoline, becoming increasingly self-sufficient. Since Europe is structurally long on gasoline — producing more than it consumes — falling export demand has led to higher stock levels compared with historic averages in recent years. Participants have pointed to plentiful stocks across Europe this year, with some traders suggesting waning demand may lead to an oversupplied European market. Refiners have begun slowing gasoline blending activity to curtail production, in part due to the backwardation caused by the US-Iran war, which tightened prompt global energy supplies, but also because of limited outlets. By Toby Shay and Atishya Nayak Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Short-term diesel supply at ARA good, tightness ahead
Short-term diesel supply at ARA good, tightness ahead
London, 24 April (Argus) — Diesel is well-supplied at Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) hub, buoyed by strong refinery output, draws on stocks and unusual barge imports from Germany, but expectations of a tight summer are building. Refineries at ARA have run hard in recent weeks, aiming to capture strong middle distillate margins, according to market participants. Diesel refining margins have fallen from a record high of $79.22/bl on 20 March but remain elevated, settling on Thursday, 23 April, at $53.93/bl, 80pc higher than before the US-Israel-Iran war began. Suppliers have started to lean into inventories, reluctant to pay high prices. Independently-held stocks of diesel and other gasoil at the hub have fallen by 11pc in the past two weeks to an eight-month low, according to Insights Global. Wider stocks have also been drawn down, market participants said. Unusually, German traders have also shipped diesel along the Rhine river to ARA in recent weeks, in a rare reversal of the usual flow. Low German prices make that trade workable, with domestic demand very weak and oversupply in the country's southwest and west. German consumers have relied on inventories more, driving consumer heating oil tank levels to a more-than-six year lows and diesel tanks to a 21-week low. Reverse Rhine flows have started to wind down now, regional market participants said. Those three boosts to supply have brought down barge prices at ARA. Argus assessed diesel barges loading on a fob ARA basis at a $9/t premium to the front-month Ice May gasoil futures on Thursday, down from a premium of $78/t a week earlier. Barge traders have been active, market participants said. A trader said TotalEnergies has supplied large amounts from its 338,000 b/d Antwerp refinery into the barge market, and Insights Global said physical delivery of the April gasoil futures might have driven activity. But demand for cargoes has weakened, driven by uncertainty and high prices. Buyers are taking a "waiting" mindset, in a hope that prices will fall instead, most traders said. Volatility since the start of the war has limited physical liquidity, muting traders' appetite for risk, a trader said. The front-month Ice gasoil futures have moved by more than 10pc on four days this month. This volatility has caused paper and physical traders to reach internal risk management limits on their positions , further reducing liquidity. Traders described a "binary market" that is difficult to trade, with a lot depending on signals about a resumption of movement through the strait of Hormuz. The final cargo of Mideast Gulf diesel arrived in Europe last week. Europe now has to do without the 20pc of its overall imports that came from the Mideast Gulf, and traders increasingly expect a tight summer. Replacing this means facing competition for other regions. Arrivals of diesel and other gasoil into the EU and UK have fallen by 38pc on the month to around 695,000 b/d in April to date, which would be the comfortably be the lowest since on Vortexa and Kpler records began in 2016. Europe can continue to pull on stocks, helped by emergency releases in Europe that favour products over crude. , but this cannot be done indefinitely. Government intervention in diesel markets may place further strain on supply and raise prices through staving off demand destruction . European governments have tried to curb price rises, with fuel duty cuts the most common measure. By Josh Michalowski Diesel barge fob ARA, premium to front-month Ice gasoil futures $/t Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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