Price At The Pump: Diesel, Gas Going In Opposite Directions

As we slog through the dog days of summer, oil prices are surprisingly stable, moving very little over the past week plus.

“Bit of an all over dance.  Oil price is still in the mid to upper 60s," said Patrick DeHaan with Gasbuddy.com.  "Not expecting a whole lot of that to change here, but certainly very carefully monitoring the situation with the EU and potentially U.S. tariffs on Russia.” 

As of Tuesday morning, West Texas Crude was trading slightly lower at $66 per barrel, while Brent Crude was down roughly 1% to $68 a barrel.

Economic News Moving Oil Prices

DeHaan said at this point, it’s the economy that’s having the biggest impact, or smallest, impact on oil prices.  He noted that new home construction starts reached an 11-month low in July, raising some questions about the U.S. economy; but other indicators point to a strong American economy, which would push oil prices higher.  He stressed that back and forth will keep things “interesting in oil” for the foreseeable future.

“Now when it comes to refined products, while gasoline prices have drifted a little bit lower across much of the country in the last week, diesel prices are doing a bit of the opposite and a lot of that really has to do with the fact that Russia is facing significant sanction, from the EU and potentially the U.S.  Russia producing a lot of heavy oil and products like diesel, the national average price for diesel jumping about two cents a gallon in the last week, and so gasoline and diesel prices a little bit disconnected as we get into the month of August.”

Mother Nature Could Impact Pump Prices

DeHaan added another wildcard that could impact oil prices, but has been quiet to this point, hurricane season.  He pointed out the wrong storm at the wrong time, could push oil and fuel prices higher.  But right now, there are few concerns along the Gulf Coast.

Remember to join us Tuesday mornings during NW Ag Today for your PNW Ag Network Price at the Pump.

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