Fuel Prices Showed Little Movement During Summer, Thanks To Steady Oil Prices

As we prepare for the unofficial end to summer this week, we take a look back on the fuel prices of the season. Dan McTeague with GasBuddy.com, said oil prices were like a seesaw this summer, with prices topping out around $75 a barrel around Memorial Day, only to drop within a few weeks to the $65. He said there were several international factors impacting the price of crude, from OPEC failing to limit production, to the United State exceeding anticipated production, by roughly 10%. He noted trade issues have created a soap opera like atmosphere for investors.

“You know, if there’s going to be a major trade war between the U.S. and China, between the U.S. and Europe, between U.S and Asia, between the U.S. and Canada, between the U.S. and NAFTA partners, all of these things could see a significant drop in global fuel consumption. So, any headline would cause traders to drop their positions in terms of oil and gasoline or raise them.”

McTeague added there was another thing that made the summer of 2018 interesting from a fuel price prospective, and this had a direct impact on the Ag sector.

“Diesel prices continued to maintain an advantage over gasoline, we usually see diesel pries moving up in the colder months, and then they drop back below gasoline during the warmer months. That didn’t happen this year, and it’s really tied to the fact that global demand for oil, gasoline and diesel will continue to remain very, very strong.”

Here are the lowest local prices we could find across the Inland Northwest: