DOE Lowers Price Forecasts for Diesel, Gasoline, Crude Oil
Diesel fuel will average $4.06 a gallon this year, the Department of Energy said, lowering a previous forecast.
DOE also reduced its projected prices of gasoline and oil, citing a recent slide in crude prices, the department said in its monthly short-term energy outlook.
The diesel forecast was 9 cents below last month’s outlook. DOE said trucking’s main fuel will average $4.03 in 2013, down 8 cents from the previous report. Diesel averaged $3.84 last year.
Gasoline will average $3.71 a gallon this year, DOE said, dropping a dime from its most recent forecast. Gas, which averaged $3.53 a gallon last year, will average $3.67 per gallon in 2013.
Gasoline peaked at $3.90 in April and will average $3.79 during the summer driving season from April through September, 8 cents higher than last year’s summer price.
The monthly outlook often lags DOE’s weekly price surveys. On Monday, it reported diesel fell for a fourth straight week to $4.057 a gallon, while gasoline fell for a fifth week, to $3.79.
Crude oil, the main factor in retail end-fuel prices, will average $104 a barrel this year — $2 below last month’s forecast but $9 over last year’s average.
Oil fell below $100 on Friday for the first time since February and has continued to decline this week.
Crude futures fell in early trading Wednesday to near $96 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg reported.
