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December 10, 1999 10:43 AM, EST

Department of Energy forecasts calling for essentially flat diesel fuel prices throughout 2000 are being questioned by oil market analysts.

A projection released this month and reported in some trucking trade publications says the national average price of diesel fuel will reach $1.29 a gallon in the first quarter of 2000, but drop no lower than $1.25 afterward. If that is so, it would mean a yearlong average of $1.27.

DOE expects the cost of imported petroleum to remain above $20 a barrel next year, based on information in a monthly publication from its Energy Information Administration. The department foresees the price averaging $22.38 a barrel, rising as high as $23.75 and dropping as low as $21.

Two weeks ago, crude prices reached an eight-year high, trading at $27.07 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The corresponding result pushed diesel to a level — $1.304 a gallon on Nov. 29 — not seen since December 1996, when the national average stood at $1.307 ("Diesel Fuel Hits 3-Year High," 12-6, p. 1)

For the full story, see the Dec. 13 print edition of Transport Topics. .