Diesel Rises 1.5¢ to Tie Highest Price of Year at $2.597
The U.S. average retail price of diesel rose 1.5 cents to $2.597 a gallon, putting it in a tie for the highest price this year, also reached Jan. 9.
Diesel costs 43.2 cents more than it was a year ago, when the price was $2.165 a gallon, DOE said.
All regions posted higher diesel prices except New England, where diesel dipped 0.1 cent to $2.638 a gallon.
Gasoline cost more in all regions except the Midwest, where it fell 2.2 cents to $2.339, EIA said.
Drivers in the United States will pay an average of $2.46 per gallon this summer for regular gasoline, according to forecasts in EIA’s Short-Term Energy Outlook, reflecting EIA’s higher forecast for crude oil prices.
Gasoline prices from April through September are expected to be 23 cents a gallon higher than the average price last summer, but this price is still nearly 70 cents below the previous five-year average, EIA said.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed at $52.65 per barrel April 17, compared with $53.08 on April 10. It was $48.78 on March 17.
“There’s renewed faith that OPEC and non-OPEC will be able to get global inventories lower,” John Kilduff, a partner at New York-based hedge fund Again Capital, told Bloomberg News. “We’re also looking forward to the ramp up of refineries before the summer driving season, which will also help lower crude inventories.”
OPEC is scheduled to meet in May to decide whether to extend its production cuts beyond the initial six-month period.
Meanwhile, last week, the U.S. rig count increased to 847, up by eight from the week before, and 407 more than a year earlier, oil-field services company Baker Hughes reported.
Baker Hughes ranks No. 14 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest private carriers in North America.
