Latin America most exposed to any US ban on diesel exports, Goldman Sachs says

Oct 2 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs said on Friday that Latin America would be the region most exposed to any US ban on diesel exports.

Imports from the US account for more than 50% of diesel consumption in Ecuador, Chile, Mexico and Peru, it said in a note.

Here are some details:

• The brokerage said a sudden cutoff of US supply could lower GDP by around 1% in Latin America, although inventory buffers and increased exports from the rest of the world would dampen these effects.

• "Supply will likely adjust quickly given the global nature of diesel markets, so in practice the main global economic impacts will come from higher diesel prices," it added.

• Goldman Sachs estimates that a US diesel ban would lower retail diesel prices by $0.25 a gallon per week of export bans, implying a modest 2-3 basis point drag on headline US inflation after a month.

• On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said he has conversations about banning diesel exports "every day" as the White House races to curb soaring energy prices.

• The Trump administration has told Germany and France to draw down emergency diesel inventories to help ease soaring global fuel prices or face a potential US diesel export ban, according to three people close to the discussions.

• Goldman Sachs estimates that each sustained 10% increase in diesel prices would raise global headline inflation by 0.1 percentage point and core inflation by 0.03 percentage point, with larger effects in Emerging Market Asia and Europe.