Diesel Inches Up 0.1¢ to $2.479
The U.S. average retail price of diesel rose 0.1 cent to $2.479 a gallon, according to the Department of Energy, as crude prices continued their weeklong retreat below $50.
Diesel is now 9 cents a gallon higher than at the beginning of the month, when it was $2.389 on Oct. 3.
The national average price, however, is 0.6 cent less than it was a year ago, when it was $2.485, DOE said after its Oct. 31 survey of fueling stations.
The average diesel price in the regions was mixed: rising in seven, even in one and falling in two others.
The U.S. regular gasoline average price fell 1.3 cents to $2.230 a gallon, 0.6 cent lower than a year ago, DOE’s Energy Information Administration reported.
Average prices were mixed on the regional level, declining in five regions, unchanged in one, and up in three, EIA said.
Crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed Oct. 31 at $46.86 per barrel, down from $50.52 on Oct. 24.
Meanwhile, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed in September to trim production to a range of 32.5 million to 33 million barrels a day and is due to finish the deal at a Nov. 30 summit in Vienna.
The accord helped push oil prices to a 15-month high above $50 a barrel earlier this month, although they subsequently have fallen amid doubts the group will follow through on its pledge, according to Bloomberg News.
“Right now, it’s not looking good, but these things always go right down to the wire,” Mike Wittner, head of oil-market research at Societe Generale SA in New York, told Bloomberg News. “There’s an awful lot at stake here. If they don’t reach an agreement, oil will fall like a rock and be testing $40 in no time.”
U.S. average #Diesel fuel price on 10/31/16 = $2.479/gallon, UP $0.001/gallon from week ago https://t.co/u0CtGGDI6Y #truckers — EIA (@EIAgov) October 31, 2016
