National diesel average is down for the fourth straight week, reports EIA

The national average price per gallon of diesel gasoline dropped for the fourth consecutive week, according to data issued late yesterday by the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA).

With a 2.5-cent decrease, the national average came in at $3.674 per gallon, following a 4.6-cent decrease, to $3.674 per gallon, for the week of December 6, a $0.004-cent decrease, to $3.729, for the week of November 29, and a $0.001-cent decrease, to $3.724, for the week of November 22. The latter week marked the first decrease since the week of September 13, when the national average fell to $3.372, down from $3.373 the week of September 6.

Prior to the week of November 22, the national average eked out a $0.004-cent gain, to $3.374, for the week of November 15, which followed a 0.003-cent increase, to $3.730 per gallon, for the week of November 8, a 1.4-cent increase, to $3.727 per gallon, for the week of November 1, a the 4.2-cent increase, to $3.713 per gallon, for the week of October 25, and the 8.5-cent increase, to $3.671, for the week of October 18.

For the week of October 11, the national diesel average increased 10.9-cents, which represented the highest single increase, since September 4, 2017, which saw a 15.3-cent increase, due to Hurricane Harvey.  

That was preceded by a 7.1-cent increase, to $3.477 per gallon, for the week of October 4, which, at the time, marked its highest weekly increase since the week of March 8, when it also headed up 7.1 cents.

This week’s national diesel average is up $1.090 annually, down from annual spreads of $1.148 and $1.162, respectively, for the weeks of December 6 and November 29. And West Texas Intermediate Crude oil is currently trading at $70.45 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Over the course of the late summer and into the fall, there was significant gains in gas and oil prices, which saw gains by roughly a quarter, in some cases, due to what media reports termed a looming tight market and concerns about the Delta variant of the coronavirus slowing the global economic recovery.

The White House recently announced that the Department of Energy will make available releases of 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to lower prices for Americans and address the mismatch between demand exiting the pandemic and supply.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that analysts are seeing myriad factors weighing on gas prices, including the prospect of new travel restrictions related to the Omicron variant, adding that a decision by energy producers to lift supply could also rein in prices. What’s more, it added that with more people driving, factory activity has ramped up, and oil exporting countries have increased production in measured steps, “opening the taps more widely, limiting supply.”