Diesel prices in the United States have declined $1 per gallon over the past 100 days to about $4.35 on average and they’re headed even lower, according to GasBuddy.com.
Lower energy consumption, due partly to a mild winter, has contributed to the price decline. Last spring’s record-high diesel price was $5.82 per gallon, the fuel savings platform said Monday.
The price of diesel this summer could be $2 lower than the prior year, said Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis. “Coming out of winter, we’ll continue to see diesel prices decline. Barring an unexpected disruption or escalation in global events, diesel prices this summer could be $2 per gallon lower than last summer, which is certainly good news for the economy and transportation sectors stung by the previous high costs of diesel fuel,” he said.
Higher interest rates have led to price declines related to lower consumption. “Diesel’s decline has been astounding. We’ve seen improvements in fundamentals over the last few months with diesel prices down nearly $1 per gallon in the last 100 days, thanks in part due to the Fed raising interest rates, throttling back the economy, as well as Mother Nature reducing consumption through a mild winter and curbing consumption of diesel’s cousin, heating oil,” De Haan said.
In January, De Haan predicted a fluctuation in gas prices this year.
The average diesel price has fallen to below $4 a gallon in seven states: Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa and Arkansas, the company said.
Drivers can save money simply by planning ahead and using the GasBuddy app to locate a station with low prices, the company said. Its recent research suggests many drivers wait too long to refuel, limiting their options for obtaining the lowest price per gallon.
GasBuddy provides gas price information on over 150,000 stations and has delivered more than $3.5 billion in cumulative savings to users, including cash-back rewards and cents-off per gallon for using its Pay with GasBuddy card, the company said.
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