National Diesel Average Dips 0.2¢ in 12th Consecutive Decline
The average price of diesel fuel in the United States declined 0.2 cent a gallon to $2.615, the 12th straight weekly decline, the Department of Energy reported Aug. 17.
The national average for trucking’s main fuel was cheaper by $1.220 a gallon from a year ago, DOE’s Energy Information Administration said after its weekly survey of fueling stations.
Diesel prices now are comparable to what they were in October 2009. The cumulative value of the 12-week falloff is worth 29.9 cents since May 25.
Retail prices for fuel declined in all major regions of the country except the Midwest, where it increased 2.4 cents.
Gasoline rose for the first time in five weeks, increasing 8.7 cents to $2.716. The price of gasoline jumped 31.6 cents in the Midwest and increased 3.7 cents in the Rocky Mountain region and 0.2 cent in the West Coast. The price was flat in the Gulf Coast.
Leaking tubes on a piece of equipment forced BP to shut the largest crude unit at its refinery near Chicago on Aug. 8-9. The refinery could be down for at least a month.
The closure of the refinery puts extra oil onto an already-oversupplied market and cuts the supply of gasoline to the Midwest in the middle of peak summer demand, Bloomberg News reported.
Crude oil closed at the lowest level in more than six years in New York amid speculation that demand may slip as economies slow, and Iran said OPEC output may climb to a record, Bloomberg reported.
West Texas Intermediate for September delivery dropped 63 cents to settle at $41.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Aug. 17. It was the lowest close since March 2009, according to Bloomberg.
