DOE Again Boosts Diesel, Gasoline Price Forecast
The Department of Energy again sharply boosted its projection for both diesel and gasoline prices, saying diesel will average $3.90 a gallon this month, while gas will peak at $3.60 this spring but could top $4 this summer.
Diesel prices for the full year will average $3.62 a gallon, up 74 cents from last year, DOE said in its monthly short-term energy outlook, released Tuesday.
It also noted that trucking’s main fuel has crossed the $4 barrier “in many parts of the country.” In its March outlook, DOE said that diesel would average $3.45 this year and that gas prices would peak at $3.50 a gallon.
For the full year, gasoline prices will average $3.36, but “it is possible that prices at some point [gasoline] will cross the $4 per gallon threshold,” DOE said,
Gasoline demand is expected to dip by 0.4% this summer compared with last year as a result of the high prices and the current economic slowdown, DOE said.
The weekly gasoline average price released by the department Monday was $3.332, up 4.2 cents and an all-time record high price. Diesel’s weekly price was $3.955, down 0.9 cent from last week.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices will average $101 a barrel this year, up from $72.32 last year, DOE said. The price of oil, which is driving the price for the retail pump fuels, is projected to fall back to $92.50 next year, DOE said.
Oil closed at $109.09 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday, not far off the $110.33 record set on March 13.
