LatinNews Daily - 28 September 2026

*Chile’s truckers’ union Confederación Nacional de Dueños de Camiones de Chile (CNDC) has called on the government of President José Antonio Kast to “urgently provide information and ensure transparency” regarding the measures it plans to take to mitigate new potential diesel price rises. The CNDC’s 24 September statement follows reports that the US is weighing a three-month ban on diesel exports, which the White House has denied. Speaking from New York after attending the United National General Assembly (UNGA), Kast said such a ban would be “bad news for the whole world, not just for Chile” and that the government was “already thinking about palliative measures” aimed at the most vulnerable, as when fuel prices jumped at the start of the conflict in the Middle East in February. The CNDC recalled the ensuing March fuel price shock, when gasoline prices in Chile rose about 30% and diesel by around 60%, sparking protests and clashes in Santiago. It said the effects still weigh on a sector that moves 96% of the country's goods, and that “it is no longer possible to withstand new increases without serious economic impacts”, including higher inflation. Chile’s state-owned oil company, Enap, estimated in its 9 September weekly report a Cl$89 (US$0.09) per litre rise in diesel and Cl$35 in gasoline from 10 September, with no further change forecast for this week. Its next report is due 30 September. Chile imported US$4.19bn of diesel from January to August, of which US$3.9bn came from the US, according to the central bank (BCCh)’s foreign trade monitor.

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