Global leaders announce plans to release up to 100 million barrels of diesel and oil

Global leaders are moving forward with plans to release diesel in the face of high fuel prices in a coordinated effort that appears to forestall export bans by the US or other nations.

Emmanuel Macron, the French president and current chair of the G7, announced on Friday that the group will release up to 100 million barrels of emergency oil and diesel over the next four months.

A statement from the leaders said the release will include "a frontloaded substantial diesel release within the first 20 days by G7 members and partners."

The statement said the nations have agreed not to limit fuel exports, an idea the White House has repeatedly floated throughout the latest price runup.

"We reaffirm our commitment to refrain from export restrictions on energy and energy products between G7 countries and call on all producers to refrain from imposing bans that could exacerbate market tensions," the statement said.

The G7 includes nations around the world, but European diesel reserves have been in focus in recent days, with the Trump administration pressuring leaders to act, pitching it as an alternative to Trump's threat of a full domestic export ban .

Macron told reporters on Friday that the move is aimed at triggering a drop in fuel prices.

President Trump was quick to tout the news.

"Europe has just agreed to release a massive amount of their heavily stocked Diesel Oil, Trump posted on Truth Social. "The process will begin immediately."

Diesel prices in the US have come down from all-time highs but remain elevated. The latest average from the American Automobile Association shows the average price of diesel currently sitting at $6.37 a gallon after hitting an all-time high of $6.52 on Sept. 22.

Prices are way up from the $3.70 average seen a year ago, before a series of geopolitical developments from the war in Iran to attacks on diesel refineries in Russia by Ukraine pushed up prices.

Details of the release — such as the ratio of diesel and oil and a breakdown by country — were not immediately available, but the move would be a significant withdrawal with Eurostat figures showing that EU countries held about 315 million barrels of diesel in reserve as of June this year.

Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.