Oil industry warns a diesel export ban will raise fuel prices as Trump weighs restrictions

The oil industry has warned a diesel export ban will backfire and exacerbate the global fuel crisis as President Donald Trump weighs restrictions. Trump appeared to back an export ban earlier this week, as he faces mounting political pressure to tackle rising fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections in November. "I've said let's not send out the diesel. We make a lot of diesel," Trump told reporters Tuesday on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly. "I've called for it within my people. I've been talking about it."The American Petroleum Institute, an oil lobby group, quickly pushed back after Trump's comments. API CEO Mike Sommers warned "restricting U.S. energy exports would only compound the problem—exacerbating refining challenges and ultimately hurting consumers.""The answer is more supply and more flexibility—not new restrictions that risk making a difficult situation worse," Sommers said in a statement Tuesday. The stocks of U.S. refiners Valero, Marathon Petroleum and Phillips 66 fell Wednesday after Politico reported that the Trump administration is preparing a plan to ban diesel exports for 90 days.But Energy Secretary Chris Wright told The Wall Stre...