What Europe's diesel deal with Trump means for Portugal

Europe has given Washington the diesel it asked for. It's Saturday, 3 October. Twenty-seven degrees. Air quality: 62 (Moderate). Here's what you need to know.

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WHAT EUROPE'S DIESEL DEAL WITH TRUMP MEANS FOR PORTUGAL

After a week of threats from Washington, Europe has agreed to open up its emergency fuel stocks. On Friday the G7 countries said they would release 100 million barrels of oil through the International Energy Agency over four months, with a large share of diesel in the first 20 days. Trump announced it first, saying Europe had agreed to release a "massive amount" of diesel, starting immediately. Prices fell 5% on Friday on the news. The release is what Washington had pushed for instead of banning US diesel exports, with the White House under pressure to bring fuel costs down before the US midterm elections on 3 November.

Europe was in a weak position to say no. After cutting Russian supplies, and with the war in Iran choking flows from the Gulf, the US has become its main outside supplier of diesel: about half of the EU's diesel imports in August came from American refineries. Imports cover only 10% to 15% of what Europe uses, but that's the slice that sets the price. Analysts say tapping reserves now carries its own risk, leaving Europe with less cover if supplies are disrupted again.

Portugal is in a slightly better position than most. Galp's refinery at Sines, the country's only one, makes diesel, though not enough to cover all demand, so Portugal imports some too. Portuguese analysts say any shock would come through prices rather than shortages: Portugal buys and sells at international prices, so when diesel moves in Europe, it moves here, whatever Sines produces.

Portugal also holds its own emergency stocks. In March, ENSE, the national energy-sector body, said the country had enough for 93 days of consumption in a disruption, including around 297,800 tonnes of diesel stored at Sines, Matosinhos and Aveiras. It isn't yet clear which countries will release what. Whether Portugal draws on its own stocks is the government's call, and EU leaders are expected to discuss the fuel crisis at the European Council later this month.

It all lands on an already expensive autumn. Figures out this week put inflation at 3.6%, driven by fuel, with energy prices 15.4% higher than a year ago.

If you drive a diesel car, run a business with vans or rely on deliveries, prices are where you'd feel this. On current information, supply isn't the worry.

Bottom line: the deal should take some pressure off diesel prices for now, but Portugal still pays whatever the international market charges.

⚡ QUICK HITS

A public consultation has opened on listing bullfighting as part of Portugal's intangible cultural heritage. Património Cultural, the national heritage institute, launched the 30-day consultation more than five years after the Association of Bullfighting Tertúlias first proposed adding bullfights to the national inventory. A decision is due within 120 days of it closing. Official figures show close to 300,000 people attended bullfights in 2025, up from 244,000 the year before, across 147 events in 63 municipalities, although the number of events continues a longer downward trend. The Left Bloc has proposed banning under-18s from working at or attending bullfights, and PAN, the animal-welfare party, and Livre, one of the smaller left-wing parties, want bullfighting abolished. Comments can be emailed to [email protected] or sent by registered post.

This summer was Portugal's third hottest since records began in 1931. IPMA, the national weather institute, says mainland temperatures between June and August averaged 23.17°C, 1.21°C above the 1991–2020 norm. Only 2025 and 2005 were hotter. There were two heatwaves, from 9 to 24 June and from 29 June to 11 July, and the second reached 77% of weather stations. The hottest reading was 44.3°C in Mora, in the Alentejo, on 3 July. Rain over the summer as a whole came in close to normal, but only because of August, which saw 260% of its usual rainfall, much of it at the end of the month in Lisbon, the Tagus valley and the coast between Setúbal and Sines.

A new website brings shelter dogs and cats from across Portugal into one search. AdoptPets.pt is a free, bilingual Portuguese-English directory listing around 2,400 animals from 45 shelters and municipal kennels. Users can search by location, age, size, breed and gender, then get sent straight to the organisation handling the adoption. It was set up by Tami Cross and Craig Schreiber, an American couple who moved to the Algarve from San Diego three years ago, after finding that adoptable animals were scattered across Facebook posts and shelter pages, many without photos. It's free for charities, rescues and municipal kennels; breeders and sellers are excluded. The founders say it's already drawing more than 400 visitors a day.

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🍽️ SPOT OF THE DAY

THE GREAT AMERICAN DISASTER (MARQUÊS DE POMBAL)

No, it isn't Luke's. But if one too many autumn Gilmore Girls reruns has left you wanting a slice of pie and a cup of coffee in a proper diner, this is about as close as Lisbon gets. The Great American Disaster has sat above Praça Marquês de Pombal since the 1980s, and was renovated in 2007 without losing its 50s rock'n'roll diner look.

The menu is what you'd expect: burgers, fries, onion rings, pizzas, milkshakes and American desserts. People go for the nostalgia and the view over the roundabout as much as the food, and its defenders point to generous portions for the price.

Reviews are split, though. One reviewer complained that the burger price creeps up because extras cost €1.50 each, and found the milkshakes thin and the fries tired. One guide says to skip the pizza.

Worth knowing before you go: it's open every day from noon into the evening. Go for the atmosphere and a burger and shake, not a gourmet meal, and you'll leave happier.

→ Find them here ←

Insider tip: the way in is easy to miss. You go through a building lobby on the square to an unmarked door upstairs. Ask for a window table for the view over Marquês de Pombal.

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