DOE Holds 2013 Diesel Price Forecast at $3.90
The Department of Energy held its 2013 diesel-price forecast at $3.90 per gallon and said trucking’s main fuel will average $3.80 next year.
Gasoline will average $3.55 a gallon this year, DOE said in its monthly short-term energy outlook released Tuesday, also matching its most recent forecast.
Gasoline will average $3.38 next year, down a penny from the most recent outlook, the report said.
Diesel averaged $3.97 a gallon last year, while gasoline averaged $3.67 in 2012. Diesel averaged about $4.026 in the first quarter of this year.
The monthly short-term outlook often lags DOE’s weekly price surveys. Both fuels have declined for six straight weeks, with diesel at $3.977 and gas at $3.608, DOE said Monday.
The department boosted its 2013 forecast for crude oil prices, the main component of refined fuels, by $2 to $93.92 a barrel.
Oil, which averaged $94.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange last year, will average $92.25 a barrel in 2014, DOE projected.
Crude oil futures finished the trading day Tuesday up 84 cents to $94.20 a barrel on the Nymex, Bloomberg News reported.
