Global diesel prices have risen sharply as disruptions in West Asia and Russia reduce supplies of the fuel. The pressure is now being felt in India, where private fuel retailers Jio-bp and Nayara Energy have introduced limits on diesel purchases at their retail outlets.
Why are diesel prices rising globally?
The current pressure is not only about higher crude oil prices. A key problem is a shortage of refined diesel. The ongoing US-Iran conflict has disrupted fuel supplies from the Gulf, while attacks on Russian refineries have affected another major source of diesel exports.
US retail diesel prices crossed $6 a gallon for the first time on record this month, while an Asian diesel benchmark was around $180 a barrel on September 18, Reuters reported.
West Asia exports have fallen sharply
West Asia diesel exports halved between March and August compared with a year earlier, averaging 800,000 barrels per day, according to shipping data from Kpler. West Asia supplied nearly 41 per cent of Europe’s diesel imports in 2025, Kpler data showed.
The fall in exports is now visible in prices. In the UK, diesel reached a record 199.18 pence per litre on September 28, while the cost of filling an average family car rose to almost £110, about £31 more than before the US-Iran conflict began, Reuters reported.
Refining capacity is another bottleneck
The International Energy Agency has estimated that lost global refining throughput has reached 4.7 million barrels per day compared with 2025. This matters because crude oil needs to be processed in refineries to produce diesel. Even if crude is available, reduced refining capacity can limit the amount of diesel reaching consumers.
Refineries are already operating at high levels in several markets, leaving limited scope to increase diesel production further. The IEA said many refineries around the world are already stretched to capacity, leaving few options to prevent further tightening of supplies and higher prices in the coming months.
Inventories are also low. Reuters reported that US diesel stocks rose to 96.97 million barrels in the second week of September, but remained nearly 15 per cent below the five-year average for that time of year.
How is India feeling the pressure?
This has created a significant price difference between diesel sold at ordinary pumps and fuel supplied to bulk users. The gap has reached as much as ₹40 a litre, prompting some large consumers to buy diesel from retail outlets instead, PTI reported.
Why are retailers limiting purchases?
The shift in buying patterns is putting pressure on individual petrol pumps. Factories, manufacturing units, telecom companies, hotels, malls, data centres and hospitals are among the bulk users of diesel. Some of these customers are buying 400-600 litres at a time from retail outlets, PTI reported. But petrol pumps have limited storage capacity. Once stocks fall, replenishing an individual outlet can take at least a couple of days, the report said. This has prompted Jio-bp and Nayara to introduce purchase limits.
Jio-bp said its mobility stations were “operational and adequately stocked” and that the measures were aimed at ensuring equitable availability of fuel amid changing demand.
The limits are relevant to motorists and transport operators who depend on petrol pumps for diesel, as well as industrial users who need the fuel for machinery and backup generators.
However, currently, there are no reports of customers facing difficulty or delays in getting diesel.
What happens next?
Pressure on Indian retail outlets could ease if global diesel supplies improve, refinery output increases or industrial buyers return to dedicated bulk-fuel channels. The situation will also depend on how Indian fuel retailers respond if the price gap between retail and bulk diesel persists. Public-sector retailers could also consider quantity restrictions, PTI reported.
