Fuel Prices Returning To Normal Following Hurricanes Harvey and Irma

Fuel prices across the Northwest, and the country, are returning to more seasonable ranges, following the devistaing impact of hurricanes Harvey and Irma earlier this season. According to AAA, the National Average for a gallon of diesel has dropped one cent in the past week to $2.72, while Washington’s average held steady at $3.12 a gallon and Oregon’s price fell a penny to $2.94 a gallon.

Marie Dodds with AAA said while diesel prices have dropped over recent days, they have not fallen as dramatically as gasoline prices. Dodds also noted that just because diesel prices are dropping now does not mean they’ll continue to lower.

“Diesel prices can go up and down, especially if we get hit with a bad snow storm, because often what would have been used in diesel production then gets diverted to home heating oil.”

Dodds added oil prices could move higher in the coming weeks, after OPEC meets in early November. They are expected to cut oil production to push prices higher. Dodds said American consumers are not as vulnerable to OPEC’s decission as we were a few decades ago.

“The U.S. now produces so much oil and gasoline that we are a bit insulated from some of these global events, but certainly when we look at Iraq, Iran in the news again, yes, those things do have an impact on crude oil prices.”

Dodds says the expectation is fuel prices will continue to drop in the coming weeks. Here are some of the lowest diesel prices we could find across the Northwest: