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.
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.
Western Australia to add 8mn litres to gasoil reserve
Western Australia to add 8mn litres to gasoil reserve
Sydney, 24 April (Argus) — The government of Western Australia (WA) will buy an additional 8mn litres (50,314 bl) of gasoil for its strategic fuel reserve, it said on 23 April, increasing the state-owned stockpile to 12mn litres (75,471 bl). The additional 8mn litres was offered by miner Rio Tinto and will be purchased from its supplier Viva Energy. The volumes are incremental to WA's normal fuel imports and will be stored in Esperance and Kwinana. The extra supply will allow it to redirect fuel to priority users, including the agricultural sector in the Wheatbelt and Great Southern regions, if required, the government said. WA announced plans to create its own strategic reserve of gasoil , separate from the national stockpile, earlier this month. An initial 4mn litres of gasoil for the strategic reserve was bought from independent supplier Cambridge Gulf and is stored at Wyndham in the Kimberley region, where it is expected to support power generation in remote communities. By Tom Woodlock Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Australian fuel stocks exceed levels before US-Iran war
Australian fuel stocks exceed levels before US-Iran war
Sydney, 20 April (Argus) — Australia's fuel stocks are higher than at the outbreak of the US Iran war, energy minister Chris Bowen said on 18 April. Australia held fuel stocks equivalent to 31 days of gasoil consumption, 30 days of jet fuel and 46 days of gasoline under its minimum stockpile obligation (MSO) on 14 April, data released on the same day show. Volumes include those in country storage and cargoes located within Australia's exclusive economic zone. Australia's fuel requirements are contracted until the end of May, Bowen added. Fuel suppliers are required to report stocks every Tuesday and prove compliance with the MSO under federal law by Friday. MSO data were published quarterly prior to the US Iran war but shifted to weekly disclosures in early March . Australia had average holdings equivalent to 32 days of gasoil consumption, 29 days of jet fuel and 38 days of gasoline, according to the most recent quarterly MSO figures, covering September–December 2025. The Australian government will allow domestic sales of 50ppm sulphur gasoline until the end of September, extending earlier temporary relaxations introduced in March. The initial waiver permitted refiner Ampol to sell gasoline above the national 10ppm sulphur limit for 60 days and allowed imports of 50ppm material. From September, suppliers will be permitted to blend higher sulphur gasoline into the broader fuel pool at lower rates until 31 December, Bowen said. Suppliers subject to the MSO can paper trade S-21 tickets with other importers to ensure compliance. An S-21 ticket is a ticket for one litre of gasoil, jet fuel or gasoline. Gasoil remains the tightest market for MSO compliance and the requirement became more stringent after the mandated gasoil stock levels increased from 1 July 2025 to 32 days of cover for importers and 20 days for refiners Viva Energy and Ampol. Viva is typically long on S-21 tickets thanks to its lower days of consumption requirements owing to its 120,000 b/d Geelong refinery. Lower distillates output at Geelong could mean it has less tickets to offer other importers who could be short of their MSO requirements. Importers had their MSO requirements for gasoil and gasoline lowered by 20pc in an attempt to boost supply after a surge in demand from panic buying led to service stations running dry in regional areas. Meanwhile, the fire at Viva's Geelong refinery on 15 April was confined to the alkylation unit, while processing units including the crude distillation and reformer units remain unaffected. The residue catalytic cracking unit (RCCU) is temporarily off line as part of stabilisation efforts. The RCCU unit was restarted in mid-October 2025 following a major maintenance. Viva expects production of diesel, jet fuel and gasoline to return to above 90pc of capacity in coming weeks, subject to plant inspections. The Geelong refinery does not typically process Middle Eastern crude, sourcing supplies mainly from North and South America, southeast Asia and Australia. Viva said it has secured crude supply through July, with high confidence of continued availability. Around one-third of Viva's transport fuel sales are supplied by the Geelong refinery, with the remainder largely met by imports from the Asia Pacific region through its partnership with Vitol. By Tom Woodlock Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US–Iran war draws arbitrage to plug Asia fuel gap
US–Iran war draws arbitrage to plug Asia fuel gap
Singapore, 17 April (Argus) — The US–Iran conflict has disrupted an estimated 4.5mn b/d of oil product exports from the Mideast Gulf, prompting Asia-Pacific buyers to pull cargoes from alternative supply regions to help plug mounting supply gaps. Middle distillate markets are seeing elevated inflows, with record arbitrage arrivals of around 231,000 b/d of jet fuel and gasoil expected in April, mainly from Russia, according to Kpler. For comparison, Asia-Pacific imported just 7,000 b/d from west of Suez in 2025 and 15,000 b/d in 2024. The Asia-Pacific region is typically longer and trade flows typically flow from East to West instead of the other way, but the US-Iran war has invited large volumes of "reverse arbitrage" inflows. The naphtha market has also attracted close to 3mn t of arbitrage cargoes to offset the 3-4 mn t/month from the strait of Hormuz, with close to 3mn t loaded from west of Suez in March set to arrive in April-May. But these inflows remain insufficient, as Asia typically consumes 6–7mn t/month of naphtha, most of which is sourced from the Mideast Gulf. The resulting imbalance has triggered widespread cracker run rate cuts and multiple force majeure declarations across the region. Other light distillate markets have also shown similar trends. In the gasoline market, buyers in the Asia-Pacific have drawn a record near 119,000 b/d of gasoline from west of Suez for May arrivals, according to shipping data from Kpler. This is sharply higher than 8,000 b/d in 2025 and 17,000 b/d in 2024. The influx of arbitrage cargoes have helped to stem some of the losses in supplies, although the latest easing in oil product crack spreads across the board was likely more driven more by an easing in bullish sentiment as peace and ceasefire talks have kicked off. Over the week, gasoline, gasoil and jet fuel crack spreads fell by 21pc, 12.9pc and 2.8pc to $23.74/bl, $54.56/bl and $73.51/bl, respectively. Naphtha crack spreads declined 32.15pc to $212.03/t. Price tug-of-war Looking ahead, the onset of Europe's summer driving and travel season could force Asia-Pacific buyers to widen east-west arbitrage spreads to attract sufficient cargoes. East-west spreads must rise sufficiently to offset high freight costs and incentivise flows east rather than keeping barrels in western markets. But those spreads have recently narrowed. The gasoline east-west spread fell to $2.95/bl on 15 April from $12.15/bl on 1 April. The prompt naphtha east-west spread retreated to $67.50/t from $100.75/t over the same period, while the gasoil east-west spread turned negative, dropping to –$76.16/t from $130.91/t. A narrow or negative spread significantly reduces the economic incentive for arbitrage flows into Asia. If the strait of Hormuz remains shut, refiners in the region must try to procure alternative crudes to increase runs to produce much needed domestic supplies or put a cap on demand if the east-west spread remains narrow, according to market participants. Not sustainable Arbitrage inflows are providing some relief now, but they are not a sustainable solution if the strait of Hormuz remains shut, given that there are insufficient cargoes globally to meet demand, analysts trading firms said. Prices will need to "roll up" until demand is curtailed or regional refiners raise run rates by processing alternative crude. Even then, running crudes that refineries are not designed to run will put a cap on Asia-Pacific refined product output, weighing on residual fuel production and potentially reducing secondary unit efficiency. By Aldric Chew, Asill Bardh and Cara Wong Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Spotlight content
Browse the latest thought leadership produced by our global team of experts.
Markets panic as war paralyses gulf oil and gas
Driving Discussions: Inside the Diesel Shake-Up
OTL Countdown: West Africa’s Refining & Pricing Landscape
Explore our road fuels products
Key price assessments
Argus prices are recognised by the market as trusted and reliable indicators of the real market value. Explore some of our most widely used and relevant price assessments.
