Diesel to Average $3.87 This Summer, DOE Says in Short-Term Energy Outlook
Diesel will average $3.87 a gallon this summer — 2 cents less than last summer and about 9 cents below its current national average price, the Department of Energy reported.
Gasoline will average $3.57, a penny less than it did last summer and slightly below its current price, DOE said in its monthly short-term energy outlook released April 8.
Trucking’s primary fuel will average $3.86 a gallon this year, a penny higher than last month’s outlook.
Gasoline will average $3.45 a gallon, with a projected price in December of $3.17 a gallon, which would be a four-year low.
Diesel averaged $3.92 and gasoline averaged $3.51 last year, and DOE projected that diesel will average $3.76 and gasoline $3.36 in 2015.
Diesel will decline from near $4 in the first quarter to the mid-$3.70s by the fourth quarter, the report said.
The monthly short-term energy outlook often lags DOE’s weekly pump-price surveys. Diesel prices have sagged for the past month, and gasoline has gained for two months.
Diesel’s national average was $3.959, and gasoline’s was $3.596, according to DOE’s April 7 weekly survey.
Benchmark West Texas crude oil will average $95.60 a barrel this year, up about 30 cents from last month’s outlook but below its current levels.
Oil closed at $102.56 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on April 8, the highest settlement price in a month.
Oil will drop to $89.75 a barrel next year, the outlook said.
