Story By Andreas Exarheas | RigZone.com |The average U.S. diesel price is down compared to a year ago, according to the AAA gas prices website.
The site showed that the average diesel price in the country was $4.095 per gallon on February 22 and $4.476 per gallon a year ago. Yesterday’s average was $4.097 per gallon, the week ago average was $4.099 per gallon, and the month ago average was $3.905 per gallon, the AAA site outlined.
According to the AAA site, the highest recorded average diesel price in the U.S. was seen on June 19, 2022, at $5.816 per gallon.
In its latest diesel fuel update, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that the U.S. on-highway diesel fuel price on February 19 was $4.109 per gallon. The update outlined that this price was down $0.267 compared to a year ago, unchanged compared to the February 12 price, and up compared to the February 5 price.
The EIA fuel update showed that, as of February 19, the highest U.S. on-highway diesel fuel price was in the West Coast, at 4.721 per gallon, and the lowest price was in the Gulf Coast, at $3.844 per gallon.
In its latest short-term energy outlook (STEO), which was released earlier this month, the EIA projected that the U.S. on-highway diesel fuel price will average $3.92 per gallon in 2024 and $3.89 per gallon in 2025. The STEO highlighted that the 2023 price came in at $4.21 per gallon.
According to the EIA’s February STEO, the U.S. on-highway diesel fuel price will average $3.94 per gallon in the first quarter of 2024, $3.92 per gallon in the second quarter, $3.84 per gallon in the third quarter, $3.97 per gallon in the fourth quarter, $3.99 per gallon in the first quarter of 2025, $3.90 per gallon in the second quarter, $3.81 per gallon in the third quarter, and $3.87 per gallon in the fourth quarter of next year.
The EIA’s previous STEO, which was released in January, forecast that the U.S. on-highway diesel fuel price would average $3.95 per gallon in the first quarter of 2024, $3.90 per gallon in the second quarter, $3.85 per gallon in the third quarter, $3.98 per gallon in the fourth quarter, and $3.92 per gallon overall in 2024.
That STEO projected that the U.S. on-highway diesel fuel price would come in at $3.95 per gallon in the first quarter of next year, $3.85 per gallon in the second quarter, $3.78 per gallon in the third quarter, $3.82 per gallon in the fourth quarter, and $3.85 per gallon overall in 2025.
“We estimate consumption of diesel fuel will be largely flat over the next two years,” the EIA said in its previous STEO.
“However, we expect increased refinery production of diesel and growing renewable diesel production will increase distillate inventories for most of this year compared with 2023,” it added.
“As with gasoline, we also assume that more global refinery capacity will increase supply in global diesel markets this year, helping to put downward pressure on diesel crack spreads,” it continued.
In its latest fuel update, which pegged the retail price of diesel at $3.97 per gallon in December 2023, the EIA revealed that 44 percent of that total went towards crude oil costs, 22 percent went towards refining costs, 19 percent went towards distribution and marketing costs, and 15 percent went towards taxes.
A previous EIA fuel update released in January last year, which pinned the retail price of diesel in December 2022 at $4.71 per gallon, showed that 39 percent of that total went towards crude oil costs, 27 percent went towards distribution and marketing costs, 22 percent went towards refining costs, and 12 percent went towards taxes.
To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com Original Story: HERE.
