Oil prices declined as the U.S. pressures Europe to release diesel reserves. On Thursday Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post on social media platform X that the U.S.’s European partners should make deliveries of existing commitments faster and make additional supplies immediately available.
“American farmers, truckers, and businesses should not be left carrying the burden of a global diesel shortage,” he wrote. “America is doing its part. We look to our allies to match their commitments with action.”
The push on Europe comes as the U.S. sent another aircraft carrier and more troops to the Middle East, and as President Donald Trump threatened more possible escalations against Iran.
The U.S. military is deploying thousands of troops aboard a group of ships, including a third aircraft carrier, to the Middle East, according to a U.S. official on Thursday, after Trump on Wednesday threatened to “blow them up” or make a deal, referring to Iran, in an exchange with reporters.
Brent crude, the international standard, lost 2.4% to below $100 a barrel, at $99.88, after advancing on Thursday. That’s still well above the approximately $72 per barrel level in late February before the war. Benchmark U.S. crude declined 3.7% to $89.47 a barrel.
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