Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) said Saturday he plans to introduce a bipartisan bill seeking to block U.S. purchases of Russian oil, escalating Republican opposition to President Donald Trump‘s decision to ease restrictions on Russian diesel.
Russia To Send Diesel To US
The push comes after Trump said Russia will immediately supply over 300,000 tons of diesel into U.S. and international channels, part of a larger set of promised deliveries he argued would push diesel prices lower.
Fitzpatrick said the measure would seek to bar purchases of Russian oil and would be titled the “Ronald Reagan Peace Through Strength Act,” according to a post on X. He also said he intends to use a discharge petition to force floor action and predicted it would pass by a wide margin.
Fitzpatrick’s effort drew early backing from Rep. Don Bacon, (R-Neb.) who said he would sign on as an original cosponsor.
The bill announcement landed as Trump’s Russia arrangement outlined a much bigger supply schedule than the initial tranche. In a social media post, Trump laid out additional volumes of 500,000 tons during November, followed by 1,000,000 tons after that, and then another 3,000,000 tons depending on refinery conditions.
Energy traders reacted quickly to the prospect of more diesel hitting the market. Heating oil futures, a key U.S. diesel benchmark, dropped 4.33% to $4.67 a gallon on Friday afternoon, after earlier trading around a 52-week high of $5.43 and compared with a 52-week low of $2.05, based on Trading Economics data.
AAA put the national diesel average at $6.28 a gallon on Friday, down from a Sept. 22 record of $6.53 but still far above $3.68 a year earlier.
Refining Stocks Decline
Refining stocks also moved as investors weighed whether a surge of imported supply could squeeze margins that have benefited from the shortage. Shares of PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF) fell 5.67% on Friday, while Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:MPC) slid 1.79% and Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE:VLO) lost 2.26%.
On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned the agreement would tell Moscow it can continue attacking Ukraine, according to a report by The Hill. Trump responded outside the White House by saying Zelensky could have ended the war earlier and urged Ukraine to pick a leader who can reach an agreement.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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