Fuel Prices Up 13% in Europe and 44% in the United States — Global Oil Demand Falls by 2.45 Million Barrels in Q2 -

While a barrel of oil (WTI) was trading at $65 on February 27, on the eve of the U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran, its price subsequently surged, reaching peaks above $115 and fluctuating between $88 and $100 ever since.

The impact on fuel prices has been significant: in the European Union, the average price of a liter of gasoline rose from €1.637 on February 23 to €1.848 on June 1 (+12.9%), while diesel prices increased over the same period from €1.594 to €1.844 (+15.7%).

The following table shows changes in fuel prices across 12 European countries:

	^02/23/26		^06/01/26
	^{Gasoline 95}	^Diesel	^{Gasoline 95}	^Diesel
^Belgium	^1.504	^1.627	^1.849	^2.079
^Germany	^1.824	^1.733	^1.961	^1.860
^Denmark	^1.938	^1.780	^2.392	^2.114
^Spain	^1.471	^1.423	^1.548	^1.649
^France	^1.710	^1.650	^2.063	^2.044
^Ireland	^1.739	^1.737	^1.839	^1.922
^Italy	^1.655	^1.702	^1.951	^2.019
^Netherlands	^2.061	^1.873	^2.298	^2.161
^Poland	^1.377	^1.424	^1.418	^1.467
^Portugal	^1.686	^1.600	^1.937	^1.872
^Sweden	^1.433	^1.571	^1.614	^1.820

In the United States:
– gasoline prices surged by 44%: $3.237 per gallon on February 23, $4.661 on June 1,
– diesel prices rose by 40%: $3.809 per gallon on February 23, $5.35 on June 1.

What Impact on Consumption?

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), global oil demand fell by 2.45 million barrels per day in the second quarter of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025.
Chinese seaborne crude oil imports dropped by 3.6 million barrels per day between February and April. Significant import reductions were also recorded in Japan (-1.9 mb/d), South Korea (-1.0 mb/d) and India (-760 kb/d).

In France, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Economy on June 3, road fuel consumption recorded a sharp year-on-year decline of 12% in May, following a previous 11% decline in April.
In Belgium, data from Sofico, the operator of Wallonia’s highways and regional roads, showed that the number of kilometers traveled daily fell by 7.1% between March and April.

U.S. consumption does not follow this global downward trend:
Total petroleum products supplied to the U.S. market averaged 20.4 million barrels per day during May, representing a 3.0% increase compared with the same period last year.
Regarding the transportation sector:
– jet fuel deliveries increased by 0.4%,
– motor gasoline supplied averaged 8.8 million barrels per day, up 0.6% year-on-year,
– distillate fuel supplied averaged 3.6 million barrels per day, up 1.2% year-on-year.