An even dozen: DOE/EIA diesel price higher for 12th straight week

The weekly Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration average retail diesel price rose 2 cents per gallon in the past week, the 12th consecutive week it has increased.

That run of 12 increases makes it the third longest in the history of the series, which dates back to 1994. There were two earlier series of 15-week increases, one of which was broken only by a “no change” week, followed by another increase for a 17-week “no decline” series. That began in June 1999. The other streak ran for 15 weeks starting in December 2010.

The latest 2-cent increase takes the price, which is the benchmark for most fuel surcharges, up to $2.716 a gallon. The last price before the streak started was $2.372 a gallon. 

Monday’s price comes as the diesel market turned in a mostly flat week otherwise in commodity markets. The commodity price of ultra low sulfur diesel was up just one-hundredth of a cent since the settlement of Jan. 15, moving up to $1.5939 per gallon from $1.5929 per gallon. 

Following the weekly DOE/EIA statistics that showed inventories of all distillates in the U.S. rising over the past several weeks, the spread between the front month ULSD price and the 12-month price, a key barometer of inventory levels, widened to 2.9 cents from 1.98 cents on Jan. 15. That spread was well over 40 cents when inventories were at record levels over the summer.

Crude pieces also were uneventful. West Texas Intermediate settled Monday at $52.7 per barrel, up just 41 cents from the Jan. 15 price. Brent crude, the world benchmark, was up 78 cents a barrel during that time. 

But retail prices tend to lag, and they’re catching up from earlier gains.  Wholesale diesel prices actually fell since Jan. 15, down 3 cents a gallon in the national average price found in ULSDR.USA in SONAR.

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