Russia’s deal to supply the U.S. with diesel is unlikely to ease pain at the pump, experts say. ‘It’s kind of shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic’

A new pact that calls for Russia to boost the U.S. supply of diesel over the next few months is unlikely to make a dent in painfully high prices at the pump or elsewhere, energy policy experts say.

President Donald Trump announced Friday that he had struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to immediately supply the U.S. more than 300,000 tons of diesel.

That would be followed by an additional 500,000 tons in November, then 4 million more tons at some point after that.

The deal marks a stark reversal of policy by the U.S., which from the start of Russia’s war with Ukraine had banned imports of Russian oil, and comes at a time when the U.S. economy and consumers are being squeezed by a global rise in oil prices due to the eight-month-long U.S. war with Iran .

The price of diesel has shattered records in recent weeks, ratcheting up inflation for a broad swath of consumer goods.

The national average for a gallon of diesel in the U.S. hit a record high of $6.53 on Sept.

22, according to motor club AAA.

It averaged nearly $6.28 a gallon on Friday, up from almost $3.68 this time last year.

Diesel prices have hit records in Europe, too.

Higher diesel prices mean more expensive transportation for a long list of everyday goods.

That’s because diesel is used for many freight and delivery networks.

And some businesses have already passed along steeper costs to consumers in the form of added fees on online orders and packages in the mail .

Shoppers may feel more and more sticker shock, particularly in the grocery aisle.

Perishable foods, like meat and produce, face one of the most immediate strains of expensive diesel because they need to be hauled in and restocked frequently — or may be harvested using farm equipment powered by the fuel.