Uncertainty Mars Fuel Outlook

The price of diesel fuel crept downward 0.4 cents a gallon this week amid arguments over inventories, production quotas and reserve plans, as well as a startling speculation that the price of crude oil could reach $35 to $40 a barrel by year’s end.

	Fuel Prices
	Week of July 10:
	source	price		change
	DOE	144.9		-0.4
	Comdata*	143.0		+1.4
	OPIS self-serve*	144.4		+1.4
	OPIS wholesale*	89.2		+0.2
	*Comdata and OPIS figures are for the week of July 1-7. Click here for more fuel prices.
		More coverage on Truckline

The Energy Information Administration reported that the national average price of diesel continued above $1.39 a gallon, a level maintained since Jan. 24. In its latest survey, the federal agency found the cost at the pump dropped to $1.449 a gallon on July 10, from $1.453 in the previous week.

Industry observers predict companies and consumers will not get a reprieve from high fuel prices anytime soon.

Tom Kloza, editorial director of the Oil Price Information Service, said members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries seemed “satisfied with the price of oil as it is.”

For the full story, see the July 17 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.