Diesel Average Jumps 1.3¢ to $2.493 a Gallon
The U.S. average retail price of diesel rose 1.3 cents to $2.493 a gallon, according to the Department of Energy, as the price of crude oil reached its highest level in about 17 months as producers added to earlier announced production cuts.
The national diesel average is 15.5 cents higher than it was a year ago, when the price was $2.338, DOE said after its Dec. 12 survey of fueling stations.
The average regional diesel prices were mixed, with prices falling only in the Rocky Mountain and California regions, where they were down by 1 cent and 0.6 cent, respectively.
Also, oil jumped on Dec. 12 to the highest point since July 2015 after Saudi Arabia signaled it is ready to cut output more than earlier agreed and non-OPEC countries including Russia pledged to pump less next year.
Crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange climbed to $54.51 per barrel on Dec. 12 before closing at $52.83. They closed Dec. 5 at $51.79.
U.S. explorers rushed back to the shale patch with the largest weekly addition of oil rigs since July 2015, according to Baker Hughes Inc.
The U.S. rig count Dec. 9 was 624, up 27 from a week earlier, but down 85 from Dec. 11, 2015.
The ideal price for oil is about $60 a barrel, because a higher cost would unleash a surfeit of shale production, Nigerian Minister of State for Petroleum Emmanuel Kachikwu said in a Bloomberg TV interview.
U.S. average #Diesel fuel price on 12/12/16 = $2.493 gallon, UP $0.013/gallon from week ago https://t.co/OTuc3I5dxH #truckers — EIA (@EIAgov) December 12, 2016
