Would access to Russian diesel help drive down prices in the U.S.?

Russia's commitment to boost global diesel supply, as announced by President Trump on Oct. 9, may do little to ease prices in the U.S. in the short term, according to energy experts.

Mr. Trump said Friday on Truth Social that Russia will "immediately supply" more than 300,000 tons of diesel, an additional 500,000 tons in November, and 1 million tons "immediately thereafter."

A White House official said the plan will lower diesel costs for American farmers, truckers and other workers.

The national average for diesel in the U.S. reached a record high of $6.53 per gallon on Sept. 22, according to AAA. As of Monday, it was $6.27 a gallon, up from $3.73 a gallon in late February, just before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran. Diesel costs are even higher in states such as California, where the average price is $8.38 a gallon.

Tapping Russia for diesel is drawing pushback from lawmakers, with a bipartisan group of six senators on Sunday calling for the Trump administration to "immediately reverse course" on the plan.

Beyond such geopolitical issues, energy experts and Wall Street analysts point to several reasons in explaining why access to Russian diesel is unlikely to have much impact on U.S. prices.

"None of the numbers mentioned in the Friday communique make sense," he said in an email, referring to Mr. Trump's social media post announcing that Russia had agreed to release more diesel. "One wonders whether Russia could export any diesel in October, November or December."

The amount of diesel Mr. Trump said Russia has agreed to release is also modest relative to the global market.

The U.S. consumes around 4.1 million barrels of diesel, or roughly 170 million gallons, per day, according to S&P Global Energy.

"The export volumes committed by Russia for this month and November are within the range of Russia's current exports, which implies that Russia can hold its side of the deal without increasing supply to the market," he told CBS News in an email.

"Refined products like diesel are still barely half of prewar levels," said Daniel Sternoff, senior fellow at the Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy. "So, even if there were to be some follow-through from the Russians to put a little extra diesel into the world markets, it might take the edge off of prices, but it will not substantially lower them."

Most recently, Mr. Trump last week issued an executive order to expand access to tax-free, red-dyed diesel, a move aimed at lowering prices for truck drivers and farmers.