Diesel prices reach record high at pump
Retail gasoline prices in California and most of the nation were little changed in the last week, but diesel fuel hit a record high, the Energy Department said Monday.
The average price for a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in California rose 0.3 of a cent to $3.398 and the U.S. average slipped 0.2 of a cent to $3.097, according to the Energy Department’s weekly survey of service stations.
Compared with this time last year, the California pump price was up nearly 91 cents and the U.S. average was up 85 cents.
The average price paid for diesel fuel jumped 3.4 cents to a record $3.444 a gallon, up 88 cents from this time last year. In California, diesel’s cost eased 0.4 of a cent to $3.62 a gallon and was 91 cents higher than a year earlier.
Many retailers were worried that expensive gasoline, along with record heating oil costs, would cut into consumer spending during the Christmas shopping season.
Although the U.S. gasoline average has declined for two weeks straight, the Energy Department said consumers should not expect a significant decline in pump costs before Christmas.
“It’s certainly possible we’ve seen a peak, but I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of a [gasoline] price increase,” said Doug MacIntyre, an analyst with the Energy Information Administration, the Energy Department’s statistics arm.
He said fuel prices could go higher if crude oil costs stayed above $97 a barrel.
Still, the drop-off in gasoline consumption that normally occurs after the Thanksgiving holiday, when many Americans travel, could help keep motor fuel prices in check, MacIntyre said.
The region with the most expensive gasoline was the West Coast, up 0.2 of a cent at $3.305 a gallon. Among major cities, San Francisco had the highest average price at $3.496, down a penny.
The Gulf Coast states had the lowest price by region at $2.966 a gallon, down 0.3 of a cent. Houston had the cheapest pump price at $2.898 a gallon, up 2 cents.
The U.S. benchmark grade of oil fell 48 cents to settle at $97.70 a barrel Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude declined on speculation that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was increasing production to reduce record prices and keep the global economy from slowing.
The 12 members of OPEC will probably increase output 1.1% to 31.6 million barrels a day this month, according to preliminary estimates by PetroLogistics Ltd. OPEC had agreed in September to raise production targets for the 10 members with quotas by 1.9% starting Nov. 1.
Iraq, which last month resumed exports from Kirkuk through its northern pipeline network, will make the biggest contribution to the supply increase, raising output by 20% to 2.15 million barrels a day, according to PetroLogistics, which assesses supply by tracking tankers.
