DOE Boosts Diesel Price Forecast
Diesel fuel will average $3.92 a gallon this year — below last year’s average but a nickel higher than a previous projection, the Department of Energy said Tuesday.
Trucking’s main fuel, which averaged $3.97 in 2012, will slide to $3.82 a gallon in 2014 on lower crude oil prices, DOE said in its monthly short-term energy outlook. Next year’s projected price is 4 cents higher than last month’s forecast.
Gasoline will average $3.55 a gallon this year, up 11 cents from last year’s forecast but below last year’s $3.63 average. The motor fuel’s average price will drop to $3.39 in 2014, a nickel higher than last month’s forecast.
The monthly outlook often lags DOE’s weekly price surveys. The past two weeks have seen big spikes in both fuels, with and gasoline jumping 25.4 cents to $3.611.
DOE also boosted its price forecast for crude oil, the main component of refined fuels, saying it will average $92.81 a barrel this year, up more than $3 from last month’s $89.54 projection.
Crude oil averaged $94.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange last year.
