Diesel Drops 1.2¢ to $2.402
The U.S. average diesel retail price slipped 1.2 cents to $2.402 as inventories of crude oil and refined products remain high, the Department of Energy reported.
Diesel prices have fallen for two consecutive weeks after two weeks in which the price was unchanged.
Trucking’s main fuel is 38 cents cheaper than a year ago, when the price was $2.782.
Diesel was down everywhere except in the Gulf Coast region, where it rose 0.1 cent to $2.262, DOE said after its July 18 survey of fueling stations.
The national average price for regular gasoline fell 2.3 cents to $2.230 a gallon, DOE’s Energy Information Administration said. The average is 57.2 cents cheaper than a year ago.
EIA in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook released in July expects global oil inventory builds to average 600,000 barrels a day in the second half of 2016, “limiting upward price pressures in the coming months.”
The report said oil prices are forecast to average $48 a barrel during the second half of 2016 and $52 in 2017.
Crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed July 18 at $45.24, compared with $48.99 on July 1.
