Diesel’s Average to Decline Next Year, DOE Says
Diesel fuel’s average price will drop 15 cents next year to $3.77 a gallon from this year’s projected $3.92 average, the Department of Energy said Dec. 10.
This year’s projected price is near its current level of about $3.88, DOE said in its monthly short-term energy outlook.
Regular-grade gasoline will average $3.23 this month, down a penny from November and 30 cents below September, DOE said.
Gasoline’s national average was about $3.27 this week, according to DOE’s regular weekly survey, released Dec. 9.
This year’s fuel prices are below last year’s when diesel averaged $3.97 and gasoline averaged $3.63.
Diesel has averaged $3.93 per gallon this year through November, and gasoline has averaged $3.53. Prices have declined in the past few months, with diesel dropping about a dime and gas down more than 30 cents since Labor Day.
The report also said oil prices would hold in the mid-$90s per barrel. DOE left its 2014 forecast unchanged at $95 a barrel and said U.S. domestic crude production rose to a 25-year high in November.
Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude futures will average $97.64 a barrel this year, down a dime from its previous projection, the outlook said.
That higher level was primarily due to an average price over $100 a barrel from July through October, although crude futures rose $1.17 Dec. 10 to a six-week high $98.51 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg News reported.
