July 11, 2006 3:00 PM, EDT

Diesel to Average $2.86 This Summer, DOE Predicts

Level is 45 Cents Over Last Year; Gas to Average $2.88

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etail diesel fuel prices will average $2.86 per gallon — 45 cents higher than last year, the Department of Energy said Tuesday.

That average is lower than the average price of about $2.92 reported Monday, but Tuesday’s monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook report is prepared separately from DOE’s weekly price surveys. Both are published by the department’s Energy Information Administration.

Regular gasoline pump prices will average $2.88 per gallon, 12 cents per gallon higher than last month’s projection and 51 cents higher than last summer’s average, EIA said.

In 2006 and 2007, DOE projected benchmark light sweet crude oil to average about $69 a barrel.

Oil closed at $74 a barrel on Tuesday, up 39 cents from Monday's closing price on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg reported.

It was the first increase following three declines since last Wednesday, when crude futures closed at a record $75.19 a barrel.