The average price of diesel fuel in the United States fell for the first time in nine weeks, as the nation’s crude oil inventory rose and the government prepared to release oil from its strategic reserve.
The average diesel cost fell 3.2 cents to $1.625 a gallon, according to federal statistics for the week ending Oct. 2.
Meanwhile, crude oil fell to $30.63 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and to $29.42 on the London International Petroleum Exchange on Oct. 5. Crude was selling above $37 a barrel when President Clinton agreed Sept. 22 to release petroleum from the national reserve at the urging of American Trucking Associations and other groups.
At the same time, the 330,000-barrel increase in distillate stocks, reported Oct. 4 by the American Petroleum Institute, was well below market expectations of an 800,000 increase. However, crude oil stocks, according to API, climbed 3.4 million barrels, well above the market expectation of 1.3 million barrels.
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