DOE’s Diesel Price Forecast Dips a Penny to $3.86 a Gallon
Diesel fuel will average $3.86 per gallon this year and $3.95 in 2012, the Department of Energy said, in line with its most recent forecast.
This year’s projected cost is a penny lower than last month’s forecast, while the 2012 price matches last month’s estimate.
Trucking’s main fuel averaged $2.99 a gallon last year, DOE said in its monthly short-term energy outlook released Tuesday,
Regular gasoline will average $3.56 a gallon this year, DOE said, lowering its June forecast by 4 cents. Gas, which averaged $2.78 in 2010, will cost $3.65 at the pump next year, a 2-cent drop from its previous forecast.
The prices for both fuels generally fell since hitting more than two-and-a-half-year highs in early May, though both jumped Monday in DOE’s weekly survey, with diesel gaining nearly a nickel to almost $3.90 and gasoline gaining more than 6 cents to $3.64.
Calling the outlook for crude oil prices “uncertain,” DOE noted that crude oil prices fell from more than $110 per barrel in April to about the mid-$90’s in June.
DOE said spot oil prices, which averaged $79 per barrel in 2010, will rise to $98 in 2011 and $103 next year. That’s lower than its previous 2011 forecast of $102 and its $107 per-barrel projection for 2012.
Crude futures closed Monday at $95.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down $1.05 from Friday, Bloomberg reported.
