Diesel Rises While OPEC Squabbles

July 7, 2000 9:35 AM, EDT

While members of the oil cartel argued over production increases last week, fuel users in the United States saw little relief as the national average price of diesel rose 2.1 cents a gallon and hit a 15-week high in the latest federal survey.

	Fuel Prices
	Week of July 3:
	source	price		change
	DOE	145.3		+2.1
	Comdata*	141.6		+1.3
	OPIS self-serve*	143.0		+1.5
	OPIS wholesale*	89.0		+3.3
	*Comdata and OPIS figures are for the week of June 24-30. Click here for more fuel prices.
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Industry watchers also remained concerned about the continued low level of distillate stock.

The Energy Information Administration reported that the national average reached $1.453 a gallon on July 3, up from $1.432 the previous week. The last time the price was higher was March 20, when it stood at $1.479 a gallon. The top price recorded so far this year was $1.496 on March 13.

Word that the national and regional averages jumped up — from 0.4 cents in the Rocky Mountains to 4.7 cents on the West Coast — comes on the heels of a June 21 agreement among members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to pump an additional 708,000 barrels of crude into the supply stream each day. Norway, the world’s second largest oil exporter, has taken steps to lower prices and raise inventories by providing yet another 100,000 barrels a day.

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