DOE Boosts Diesel’s 2010 Price Forecast to Over $3 a Gallon
Diesel’s national average price will top $3 a gallon this year, the Department of Energy said Tuesday, boosting an earlier forecast by a dime.
Trucking’s main fuel will average $3.05 this year, up from the $2.95 it projected last month, DOE said in its monthly short-term energy outlook.
Next year, diesel will average $3.20 a gallon, up from a $3.12 prediction last month. Trucking’s main fuel averaged $2.46 in 2009.
Regular gasoline will average $2.86 this year and $2.98 in 2011, both up 2 cents from the previous forecast. Last year, gas averaged $2.35 per gallon.
Gas will average $2.94 during this summer’s driving season (April 1 through September 30), up 50 cents from last summer and 2 cents higher than the previous forecast.
Higher economic growth will yield higher oil prices, DOE said, raising its oil outlook by $2 to $84 per barrel in the second half of this year, then to $87 a barrel by the end of 2011.
DOE said it does not expect “any significant disruptions” to energy supply due to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last month.
