Diesel to Average $3.87 This Year, DOE Says
Diesel will average $3.87 a gallon this year, the Department of Energy said, lowering its most recent forecast by 2 cents.
Trucking’s main fuel will average $3.95 at the pump next year, also down 2 cents, DOE said in its monthly short-term energy outlook released Tuesday.
DOE last month had lowered its outlook by 9 cents, following two big boosts before that, but the price of oil, a big driver in end-fuel costs, has tapered off since then. Diesel averaged $2.99 last year.
Regular gasoline will average $3.60 per gallon this year, DOE said, lowering its forecast by 3 cents from last month’s outlook.
Gas, which averaged $2.78 last year, will rise to $3.67 in 2012, a penny higher than previously predicted.
Gasoline’s May average of $3.91 will be the peak during this year’s “driving season” from April through the end of September, DOE said.
The prices for both fuels have fallen for about a month along with declining oil prices. Diesel’s most recent price of $3.94 on Monday was the fifth straight decline from a more than two-and-a-half-year peak of $4.124 in early May.
Oil will average $102 per barrel this year and $107 in 2012, about in line with its previous forecast, DOE said. Crude prices hovered close to $100 a barrel for the past month.
Monday’s crude closing price of $99.01 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange was the first time oil closed below $100 in two weeks.
