Oil Slips, Diesel Inches Up 0.2¢ to $2.579
The U.S. average retail price of diesel rose 0.2 cent to $2.579 a gallon as crude oil prices remained near $53 a barrel and U.S. production advanced amid other cuts in global production.
It was diesel’s third consecutive increase, the Department of Energy reported March 6. The cumulative rise over that period is 0.7 cent from $2.572 on Feb. 20.
Diesel now costs 55.8 cents more than it was a year ago, when the price was $2.021 a gallon, DOE said.
At the same time, the U.S. average price for regular gasoline increased 2.7 cents to $2.341a gallon, and was 50 cents higher than it was a year ago, DOE’s Energy Information Administration said.
Gasoline was higher in all but three regions, EIA said.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed at $53.20 per barrel March 6, compared with $54.05 on Feb. 27.
OPEC’s deal with 11 other major producers to reduce output spurred a 17% rally in U.S. oil prices during the last five weeks of 2016. This year, the rally has stalled as American production and supplies advance. West Texas Intermediate bounced between $51.22 and $54.94 in February, the tightest range since August 2003, according to Bloomberg News.
