AASHTO Journal, 6 March 2015
The national average retail price of gasoline jumped 14.1 cents a gallon in the week ending March 2, the U.S. Energy Information Agency said, partly because of a record 37.2-cent pop in West Coast gas prices.
Meanwhile, diesel fuel prices continued to rise at a much slower pace with a 3.6-cent gain in the EIA’s March 2 survey of fueling stations. Since most truck-hauled freight shipments are under rate agreements that have fuel surcharges linked to the EIA’s number, that means freight bills will adjust upward more slowly than gas prices have risen.
The U.S. average gas price was $2.473, the EIA said, which reflects a jump of 43 cents since the EIA’s weekly price level bottomed at $2.044 on Jan. 26.
Still, that left gasoline’s average price below the $2.554 the agency reported on Dec. 15. So even with the month-long price spike, consumers were buying gasoline at a lower price in most areas of the country than any time in 2014 except the last two weeks of December.
The latest national average retail price for gasoline was still $1 below its year-ago level, and was at least $1 dollar lower in all regions but the West Coast. Reuters reports that one California refinery’s output was hampered by a Feb. 18 fire, while another was offline for a time from a strike.
Diesel’s March 2 national average at $2.936 a gallon was $1.08 below its level at the same point in 2014.
The AP is reporting that U.S. oil prices could soon start to weaken again, and bring down motor fuel prices, as oil storage capacity rapidly shrinks from inflows of U.S.-produced oil and imports from overseas. The story said many analysts think oil prices will fall through the spring.