California diesel prices averaged $8.3934 a gallon on Tuesday, Oct. 13, according to AAA, while the national average stood at $6.2787. Both readings came four days after President Trump said Russia would put diesel on world markets and Treasury issued a license loosening sanctions on that fuel.
Where it stands: California’s AAA average sits just below the state’s all-time diesel record of $8.4387, set on Sept. 22. The most recent federal weekly survey, for the week of Oct. 5, had the state at 8.082 dollars a gallon. The Energy Information Administration’s next weekly release is due Oct. 14.
For a trucker filling up in Fresno or a contractor running equipment in Riverside, the question is simple: does the Russia announcement do anything for a California pump? The short answer from the sources below is that the forces setting the price here are mostly local, and the analysts who sized up the deal looked at markets far from the West Coast.
California diesel prices against the U.S. average
The table shows the two price surveys most people cite. AAA posts a daily figure; the EIA publishes a weekly one. They do not measure the same thing in the same way, so the numbers should be read side by side rather than mixed.
| Measure | California | U.S. average |
|---|---|---|
| AAA daily, Oct. 13 | $8.3934 | $6.2787 |
| AAA, same day a year earlier | $5.1358 | $3.6533 |
| AAA all-time record (both set Sept. 22) | $8.4387 | $6.5276 |
| EIA weekly, week of Oct. 5 (dollars per gallon) | 8.082 | 6.199 |
Why the AAA figure runs higher than the EIA one in California is explained in a June letter from the state’s Division of Petroleum Market Oversight, written about gasoline averages. AAA and its data provider OPIS report prices that are “not volume weighted,” the office wrote, and they “are often $0.15-$0.25/gal higher” than the EIA’s California series, which weights by volume. The letter made that point about gasoline and did not address diesel, but it explains why the two surveys can disagree.
The EIA weekly table also gives a sense of how far California sits from its neighbors. In the week of Oct. 5, the West Coast excluding California averaged 6.490 dollars a gallon, and the Gulf Coast 5.819.
Why California pays more: an isolated market
The federal government’s own explanation is short. Diesel costs more on the West Coast, “especially in California,” because of “taxes and supply issues,” the EIA says in its guide to diesel prices. Most U.S. fuel markets are tied together by pipelines and river barges. The West Coast is not. It runs largely on what its own refineries produce.
That matters when supply tightens. The EIA noted in June that “relatively little pipeline capacity exists” to carry products from the big Gulf Coast refining hubs to the West Coast. A shortage in Los Angeles cannot simply be filled from Houston by pipe.
California also sets its own fuel recipe. The Air Resources Board’s diesel rules include a 10 percent limit on aromatic hydrocarbons, with an option for refiners to use an alternative formulation shown through engine tests to produce equivalent emissions. FOX 11 Los Angeles summed up the effect in a recent report: the state’s fuel market can be “particularly sensitive to supply disruptions because of the state’s fuel requirements and its relatively isolated refining and distribution system.”
Two big California refineries have stopped refining
The in-state refining base has shrunk. The EIA reports that Phillips 66 shut down its Los Angeles plant, rated at 138,700 b/cd, in October 2025. By the agency’s count, losing that one plant took 5% off West Coast refining capacity. Valero’s 145,000 b/d refinery in Benicia has also stopped refining, and the EIA removed its capacity from monthly estimates as of March 2026.
When the EIA looked ahead to both closures in July 2025, it wrote that California was “set to lose 17% of its oil refinery capacity” within a year. That analysis was about gasoline prices; the EIA did not put a diesel figure on the closures.
Taxes at the California pump
Taxes are a second, steadier layer. They do not swing with the market, but they help set the baseline above other states.
| Tax on on-highway diesel | Rate |
|---|---|
| Federal (excise plus tank fee) | 24.40 cents per gallon |
| California excise, July 2026 to June 2027 | $0.482 per gallon |
| California sales tax rate on diesel, same period | 13.00%, plus district taxes |
| Average of all state taxes and fees, January 2026 | 35.86 cents per gallon |
The state figures come from the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration; the federal rate and the all-state average come from the EIA. Because California’s sales tax is a percentage, it rises in dollar terms as the pre-tax price climbs.
What state regulators found in the diesel market
California’s petroleum market watchdog, a division of the California Energy Commission, flagged a diesel problem months before the Russia news. In its June 12 letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders, the division wrote: “A month into the conflict, however, California diesel prices began increasing more than prices in the rest of the United States.” The conflict it refers to is the Iran war that began in late February.
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The office pointed to “unusual and sustained price spikes on the privately-assessed petroleum diesel spot market” as one cause. It also noted that by 2023, renewable diesel and biodiesel made up the majority of diesel sold in the state, and California refineries have long produced more petroleum diesel than the state uses, exporting most of the surplus. The letter was candid about its limits: “DPMO’s analysis of the diesel market is early and ongoing.”
What the Russian diesel deal covers
The federal action itself is a sanctions license, not a shipment. According to a Treasury document quoted by NBC News, transactions related to “the sale, delivery, offloading, or importation, including importation into the United States, of diesel fuel of Russian Federation origin” are authorized through April 7, 2027.
Every tonnage figure traces back to the president’s own post. As CNBC summarized it, Mr. Trump said the first delivery would be more than 300,000 tons, with 500,000 tons slated for November, followed by 1 million tons and, depending on the state of Russian refineries, 3 million more. We found no Russian or American document that confirms those numbers.
For Californians, the telling detail is where analysts looked. In the Goldman Sachs estimate reported by CNBC, the early Russian cargoes would lower wholesale diesel by just $1 to $2 per barrel, and the bank named two markets, the U.S. Gulf Coast and Europe. The West Coast was not among them. Oil analyst Andy Lipow, speaking to CNBC, noted that America already ships out more diesel than it brings in. NBC News said futures dropped 4% when the news broke on Oct. 9, while remaining more than 110% above where they began the year.
National fallout from the deal, from the legal fight in Congress to the market math, is covered elsewhere. For who in California is absorbing these prices, from Central Valley growers to independent truckers, see our report on California truckers, farmers and 2026 diesel costs. Earlier state money changes are collected in our California money and benefits update for September.
CNBC reported that diesel futures barely moved on Monday, Oct. 12, and were trading higher on Tuesday. The Sept. 22 California record of $8.4387 still stood when AAA posted its Oct. 13 prices.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is diesel in California right now?
AAA put the California average at $8.3934 a gallon on Oct. 13. The EIA weekly survey for the week of Oct. 5 showed 8.082 dollars a gallon. The two surveys use different methods, so they rarely match.
Why is diesel so much more expensive in California than in other states?
The EIA cites taxes and supply issues. The West Coast fuel market is largely cut off from Gulf Coast pipelines, two California refineries have stopped refining since October 2025, and the state sets its own diesel formula. State regulators also flagged price spikes in the diesel spot market.
What is the record price for diesel in California?
AAA lists $8.4387 a gallon, set on Sept. 22. The national record of $6.5276 was set the same day.
Will the Russian diesel deal lower California diesel prices?
No analyst cited here forecast a California effect. The Goldman Sachs estimate reported by CNBC, a $1 to $2 per barrel wholesale cut, applied to Europe and the Gulf Coast. Diesel futures were trading higher on Oct. 13, CNBC said.
How much tax is on a gallon of diesel in California?
For July 2026 through June 2027, California charges an excise tax of $0.482 per gallon and a 13.00% sales tax rate plus district taxes, on top of the federal 24.40 cents per gallon.
Sources
- AAA Fuel Prices (California) — AAA, Price as of 10/13/26
- AAA Fuel Prices — AAA, Price as of 10/13/26
- Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update — U.S. Energy Information Administration, Diesel release October 6, 2026 (week of Oct. 5)
- Factors affecting diesel prices — U.S. Energy Information Administration (Energy Explained), Undated explainer, live October 2026
- U.S. refining capacity decreased during 2025 — U.S. Energy Information Administration (Today in Energy), June 29, 2026
- Refinery closures present risk for higher gasoline prices on the West Coast — U.S. Energy Information Administration (Today in Energy), July 9, 2025
- Diesel prices and outlook — U.S. Energy Information Administration (Energy Explained), Undated explainer (cites January 2026)
- Sales Tax Rates for Motor Vehicle Fuel, Aircraft Jet Fuel, and Diesel Fuel — California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, Rates for July 2026 through June 2027
- California Low Sulfur Diesel Fuel Fact Sheet — California Air Resources Board, Print date December 27, 2018
- California Gasoline and Diesel Market Update — California Energy Commission, Division of Petroleum Market Oversight, June 12, 2026
- Truckers struggle as California diesel prices top $8 a gallon — FOX 11 Los Angeles, Fall 2026 (no date shown on the page)
- Trump-Putin diesel deal contradicts Russia sanctions law, critics say — CNBC, October 9, 2026
- Trump says Putin will release diesel fuel into global market — NBC News, October 9, 2026
- Trump’s diesel deal with Russia equals less than two weeks of U.S. demand — CNBC, October 13, 2026
This article is news reporting and analysis based on the public sources listed above, as they stood on the dates shown. Where officials, lawmakers or analysts disagree, including on whether an action is lawful, their positions are attributed to them; California News Now is not a court and nothing here is legal advice. Facts in a developing story can change.