Updated: 3/8/2011 3:00:00 PM
DOE Boosts Diesel, Gas Price Projections
Cites Soaring Crude Price of More than $100 Per Barrel
The Department of Energy boosted its projected diesel average this year by 38 cents, to $3.81 a gallon, though the most recent weekly price already tops that level.
Diesel averaged $2.99 at the pump last year, the department said, adding that the price will average $3.82 next year, up 31 cents from last month’s forecast.
Gasoline will average $3.56 a gallon this year — 41 cents over its forecast from last month, DOE said in its monthly short-term energy outlook released Tuesday.
Regular gas, which averaged $2.78 last year, will rise to an average $3.57 in 2012, which is 27 cents higher than last month’s forecast.
The higher projections are due in large part to soaring crude oil prices, which have jumped $20 in the past month to more than $105 a barrel this week, DOE said.
It projected crude oil will be close to $105 a barrel in December and remain near that level through 2012.
The report cited volatility in oil markets, saying there is about a 35% that oil could swing either above $110 or below $90 per barrel by the end of the year.
Diesel and gasoline have each spiked by about 30 cents in the past two weeks, according to DOE’s most recent weekly pump-price survey released Monday — to $3.871 and $3.52 per gallon, respectively.
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