Seasonal Factors Temporarily Drive Down Diesel Costs

Interesting news if you regularly fill your tank with diesel fuel instead of gasoline!

For the first time in six years, average diesel prices are cheaper than gasoline. But it’s not a trend that’s expected to last. The EIA reports that a confluence of factors are making average diesel prices drop below average retail gasoline prices starting in January, including “the typical seasonal demand pattern, which is strongest for diesel in the winter heating season and strongest for gasoline in summer, has been amplified by especially strong demand for gasoline in the United States and abroad.”

These circumstances, including a recent increase in demand for gasoline, have combined to flip the usual trends that keep gasoline markets weak and diesel in high demand. As a result, diesel and gasoline prices have roughly reached price parity, with the U.S. price of regular gasoline and diesel averaging at $2.80 per gallon and $2.78 per gallon respectively.

However, the EIA warns consumers not to get used to relatively cheap diesel, “as gasoline demand moderates with the end of the summer driving season and diesel demand begins to grow in response to the fall agricultural harvest and the winter heating season.”