Diesel Rises 0.7 Cent Midst Muddled Outlook

January 10, 2001 1:38 PM, EST

The price of diesel fuel rose seven-tenths of a cent last week, following an upward trend in the price of crude oil and reversing four straight weeks of decline.

But while a period of rising prices seemed a likely forecast, the outlook is muddled by a variety of factors.

According to the Energy Information Agency, the national average price of diesel fuel on Jan. 1 was $1.522 per gallon, more than 12 cents below the price on Nov. 27. However, the Jan. 1 price of oil for February delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange was $26.80 a barrel, up more than a dollar from the previous week.

Rising oil prices, engendered by expectations that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will decrease production for the first time since 1999, suggest that the price of diesel will track upward as well.

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