DOE Lowers 2015 Diesel-Price Forecast 3¢ to $2.86
The Department of Energy lowered its 2015 forecast for diesel prices by 3 cents to $2.86 a gallon and said it will average $2.77 for the six months through September.
But trucking’s main fuel will rise to average $3.24 per gallon next year, DOE’s Energy Information Administration said in its monthly short-term energy outlook released April 7.
That’s a penny less than it projected last month’s outlook, and diesel won’t hit the $3 average level until December of this year, the report predicted.
Gasoline will average $2.40 per gallon this year and $2.45 for the six-month period through September, EIA said. The motor fuel will average $2.73 next year, a penny higher than last month’s projection.
Last year, diesel averaged $3.83 and gasoline averaged $3.36 per gallon.
EIA boosted its outlook for oil prices slightly — to $52.48 a barrel from $52.15 last month — but said the price will rise to average $70 per barrel in 2016, matching its most recent forecast.
EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski said following the report’s release that a possible deal with Iran over that country’s nuclear program could boost world oil supplies.
“If and when oil-related sanctions on Iran are lifted, EIA’s baseline outlook for oil prices in 2016 could be reduced $5 to $15 per barrel from the forecast presented in EIA’s current outlook,” Sieminski said in a statement.
U.S. crude oil production is expected to peak this year in the second quarter and then decline in the third quarter, before picking up again toward the end of the year as projected higher prices in the second half of 2015 make drilling more profitable, he said.
“Domestic oil production will remain strong enough this year to help cut the share of U.S. petroleum consumption that is met by net imports to the lowest level since 1970,” Sieminski added.
EIA’s monthly short-term energy outlook often lags its weekly price survey, which this week showed that diesel and gasoline declined by 4 and 3.5 cents, respectively, to $2.784 and $2.413 per gallon.
