Diesel to Average $3.96 This Year, DOE Says
Diesel fuel will average $3.96 a gallon this year, below its current pump price, the Department of Energy said Sept. 10.
Trucking’s main fuel, which averaged $3.97 a gallon last year, will average $4.05 per gallon in October, DOE said in its monthly short-term energy outlook. It will fall next year to an average of $3.82 a gallon, DOE said.
The 2013 full-year diesel projection is up from last month’s $3.92, while the 2014 forecast is higher than August’s $3.76 prediction.
Gasoline’s average price for the fourth quarter of this year will be $3.44 a gallon, 11 cents higher than what DOE said in last month's outlook.
The motor fuel, which averaged $3.63 a gallon last year, will average $3.43 next year, DOE said.
In its weekly price survey of filling stations released Sept. 9, DOE reported that diesel’s price did not change from the previous week’s $3.981, while gasoline dipped 2.1 cents to $3.587.
DOE also boosted its 2013 crude oil forecast by almost $2 from last month’s outlook, to $98.59 a barrel. Oil will drop to $96.21 next year, the report said, higher than last month’s report.
