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.
Mexico to negotiate Trump’s tariffs: Sheinbaum
Mexico to negotiate Trump’s tariffs: Sheinbaum
Mexico City, 14 July (Argus) — Mexico believes it can reach a deal with US president Donald Trump after he said he would impose 30pc tariffs on goods imported from Mexico beginning on 1 August. Over the weekend Trump made public on his social media platform a letter sent to Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum on Friday, threatening the new tariffs. The move could significantly disrupt crude flows from Mexico to the US, and refined product flows from the US to Mexico. Mexico's ministries of the economy, foreign affairs, finance, security and energy said in a statement Saturday that they met with their US counterparts on Friday to begin negotiations to head off the new tariffs before 1 August. The Mexican ministries called the new tariff plan "unfair treatment." With the working group— created by the US State Department — leading the talks, Sheinbaum said today she trusts a deal can be made before 1 August. It is not clear if the 30pc tariff threat applies to trade currently covered by the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA). A White House official said previously that a 35pc tariff against Canada would not include USMCA-covered trade, but that those terms could change. Mexico also has a plan should no deal be reached, Sheinbaum said, without specifying details. When previously threatened with tariffs, Sheinbaum discussed plans to bolster Mexico's economy to become more resilient in the face of disrupted trade with its top trade partner, as well as unspecified retaliatory tariffs. But Trump vowed to raise the tariffs even higher if Mexico was to retaliate with its own measures. In his initial letter to Sheinbaum, Trump repeated previous justifications for higher tariffs by pointing to Mexico's "failure" to stop criminal groups from smuggling fentanyl into the US. Trump recognized that Mexico is working on the issue but does not consider these efforts fruitful: "Mexico has been helping me secure the border, BUT, what Mexico has done is not enough," Trump wrote. Trump sent a similar letter threatening tariffs on Friday to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. The US has clinched only one limited trade deal, which keeps in place a 10pc tariff on US imports from the UK while granting a lower-tariff import quota for UK-made cars. Trump has announced a deal with Vietnam, setting tariffs at 20pc. By Cas Biekmann Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Paraguay, Argentina extend Km 171 fuel shipping
Paraguay, Argentina extend Km 171 fuel shipping
Sao Paulo, 8 July (Argus) — Paraguay's national directorate of tax revenue DNIT and Argentina's customs revenue and control agency Arca extended operations at the transshipment zone at the Km 171 mark in the Parana Guazu River for an additional 10 months. The announcement, shared by DNIT head Oscar Orue on social media, comes after days of tension sparked by Argentina's earlier decision to suspend operations at the site, citing a lack of formal port authorization. Argentina's decision was criticized by Paraguayan authorities and industry groups last week , who warned of potential fuel supply disruptions and increased logistics costs. Km 171 is a critical hub for ship-to-barge transfers of oil products such as diesel and naphtha for landlocked Paraguay, which relies heavily on river transport for fuel imports. While the new agreement ensures continued operations in the short term, it remains unclear whether the 10-month extension will serve as a transitional period for negotiations toward a permanent solution. By Flavia Alemi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
French diesel, HVO customs data mislabelled: Eurostat
French diesel, HVO customs data mislabelled: Eurostat
Barcelona, 8 July (Argus) — French firms have mislabelled imports of 10ppm diesel as hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) this year, following confusion over new customs codes, EU data service Eurostat has said. The confusion has come about after the introduction of a new import-export (CN) code for HVO that took effect at the start of 2025. Some French data will be restated. A diesel code of 27101943 was discontinued at the end of 2024 and was replaced by 27101944. A new CN code 27101942 for HVO was introduced. HVO is produced by treating vegetable oil with hydrogen, counts against biodiesel blend mandates, but is molecularly separate from biodiesel output by esterification. When customs data for 2025 began to be published at the end of the first quarter, France appeared to be importing large amounts of HVO from Saudi Arabia and the US. Cargoes from the former amounted to around 255,000t in the first quarter. Saudi Arabia has no HVO production known by Argus , nor does it re-export cargoes. It is France's largest diesel supplier. There were also 140,000t labelled as HVO from the US in January-March. But because the EU has anti-dumping and countervailing duties on US HVO imports, shipments of this size appeared questionable. The US is the second biggest diesel supplier to France. The mislabelling has made French and EU HVO traffic difficult to track. It has distorted French diesel import data , which show imports have fallen sharply. Argus first questioned the numbers in March when initial 2025 customs data were released. These queries were rebuffed, but after a follow up in May Eurostat said French customs had "confirmed that there has been an input error". New data will be supplied by France at an unspecified time this year, it said. By Adam Porter Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Nigeria’s imports of European gasoline hit record low
Nigeria’s imports of European gasoline hit record low
London, 7 July (Argus) — Nigerian imports of European gasoline fell to a record low in June, according to Kpler tracking data, as rising output from the country's 650,000 b/d Dangote refinery sharply reduced demand for the product from the EU, UK and Norway. The drop in Nigerian buying pulled overall west African imports of European gasoline to a four-month low of 926,000t, down from 1.315mn t in May and 20pc lower year-on-year. Nigeria, long the region's largest gasoline importer, slipped behind Togo last month as the Dangote refinery hit its highest monthly run rate since coming online. The country is approaching a turning point in its gasoline trade balance. June arrivals into Nigeria from Europe fell by 56pc on the month to 231,000t — the lowest recorded by Kpler. It also imported 28,000t from offshore Lome and 12,000t from Houston, leaving a total of 271,000t. At the same time, Dangote loaded a record 252,000t of gasoline for export last month. This included 90,000t aboard the Pis Kerinci to Sohar, Oman; 89,000t on the Hafnia Larissa to Pasir Gudang, Malaysia; 35,000t on the Sabaek to Abidjan, Ivory Coast; and a further 39,000t aboard the Sabaek , which has yet to discharge. The country could be on the verge of flipping to net exporter status, given the Dangote refinery has "extra plant capacity to produce gasoline", according to Dangote Group executive director Edwin Devakumar. The plant's naphtha hydrotreating unit has "flexibility to achieve additional production", and Dangote has recently begun buying naphtha to support gasoline output, he said. The fall in Nigerian demand for gasoline imports, combined with weaker-than-expected US consumption, is raising concerns over outlet options for European gasoline this summer, a European trader told Argus . Europe remains a large net exporter of the product. Benchmark non-oxy gasoline barge cracks to front-month Ice Brent crude futures averaged $14.73/bl between 1–4 July, broadly steady on the year and slightly up from $14.62/bl in the same period of 2024. By George Maher-Bonnett Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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Key price assessments
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