Fuel Averages to Hit Records
Retail diesel prices will average $2.82 a gallon this summer, down 6 cents from last summer, but the average price for the full year will be the highest on record, the Department of Energy said.
Diesel prices for the year will average $2.75 a gallon, the highest average in history, DOE’s Doug MacIntyre told Transport Topics following the release DOE's monthly short-term energy forecast on Tuesday.
Regular grade gasoline will also reach a historical average high this year, at $2.62 a gallon at the pump, MacIntyre said.
Gasoline will average $2.81 this summer, down slightly from $2.84 last summer, the forecast said. This summer, the average monthly gasoline pump price is projected to peak at an average of $2.87 in May, compared with a $2.98 peak last July.
DOE projected crude oil futures prices will average $64 to $65 a barrel this month, as supplies remain tight worldwide. Oil will average about $64 per barrel this year and in 2008 as a result of tight supplies, the report said.
In DOE's latest weekly pump-price survey, diesel averaged $2.84 a gallon, up a nickel from last week, while gasoline jumped 9.5 cents to $2.802.
Crude oil futures edged up 38 cents Tuesday to close at $61.89 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after falling $2.77 on Monday, the biggest one-day drop in three months.
