The Energy Department lowered its projection for diesel prices from a previous forecast and said it is possible that trucking’s main fuel will fall below gasoline in price this summer.
DOE projected that diesel fuel would average $2.19 per gallon this year and $2.51 in 2010 in its monthly short-term energy outlook, released Tuesday.
Both price predictions are lower than last month’s, which were $2.28 this year and $2.55 in 2010.
DOE expects that consumption of diesel fuel will continue to decline both in the United States and abroad, narrowing refining margins.
Trucking’s main fuel averaged $3.79 at the pump last year, and the national average price in DOE’s weekly survey released Monday was $2.045 — a 4.2-cent decline from last week and down more than $2.71 from the record $4.764 set last July.
Regular gasoline will average $1.96 this year and $2.18 in 2010, DOE said — each up just one cent from last month’s forecast.
DOE’s weekly gasoline survey released Monday put the price at $1.941 — up 0.7 cents from last week but down almost $2.17 from the $4.114 record set in July.
Having fallen from record highs about $145 last year to below $40 per barrel, crude oil — which averaged $100 a barrel in 2008 — will average $42 a barrel this year and $53 in 2010, down slightly from the $43 $55 respective forecasts of last month.
