Diesel, Gasoline Prices Expected to Jump Less This Year
U.S. crude oil production is projected to hit record highs, but that won’t stop diesel prices from rising. Photo: ConocoPhillips
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A federal outlook for national average on-highway diesel prices predicts they will be higher this year and in 2019 than they were last year and in 2016, but they should at least be fairly stable during this time, according to the latest Short Term Energy Outlook from the U.S. Energy Department.
It projects that trucking’s primary fuel will average $2.95 per gallon in 2018 and bump slightly higher to $3.01 per gallon in 2019. While that’s an expected 11.2% hike for this year over last, it would represent just a 2% increase in 2019 over 2018. However, it’s less than the 14.8% jump in the average diesel price in 2017 over 2016.
The currently weekly average in the U.S. for on-highway diesel is just under $3 per gallon. It is expected to average $2.97 in the first quarter of 2018 before dropping to $2.89 in the second quarter. The third quarter average is expected to rise to $2.94 before finishing up at $3 per gallon in the fourth quarter.
The quarterly average range for diesel in 2019 is expected to range from a low of $2.96 in the first quarter to a high of $3.08 in the fourth quarter.
The trend for gasoline is similar, but at lesser prices and with smaller hikes. Regular grade is expected to average $2.57 per gallon in 2018 and $2.58 per gallon in 2019. If such an increase happens this year, this would represent a 6.3% increase over 2017 and just a 0.4% gain in 2019 over 2018, far less than the 12.4% jump seen last year when compared to 2016.
Driving the price of both fuel higher will be slightly increased crude oil prices. Benchmark North Sea Brent crude …Read the rest of this story
