DOE Boosts ’08 Diesel Price Forecast
The Department of Energy sharply boosted its projections for diesel fuel prices into 2008, raising its forecast from a month ago by 18 cents a gallon for this month alone, to an average of $3.36 a gallon.
Retail diesel prices will remain substantially above $3 through 2008, averaging $3.21 for the year, DOE said in its monthly short-term energy forecast released Tuesday.
Prices will average $3.31 in January, $3.29 in February and $3.27 in March — up from November’s projections for the same months of $3.15, $3.13 and $3.13.
Both diesel and gasoline prices have fallen in the past two weeks, with diesel declining 11.9 cents to $3.325 Monday after hitting an all-time high of $3.444 a gallon on Nov. 26, and gasoline falling 9.7 cents in that time to $3 a gallon, according to DOE’s weekly price surveys.
Gas prices next May are projected to rebound to more than $3.40 a gallon as the summer driving season begins, DOE said.
Average crude oil are projected to jump to $72 a barrel this year from $66 last year — and to nearly $85 per barrel in 2008, DOE said.
