As gas prices ease, US now has to deal with diesel crisis
By Breanne Deppisch, Energy and Environment Reporter
November 14, 2022 06:00 AM
As the United States took steps to alleviate high gas prices this year, the cost of diesel, another key commodity, has been quietly climbing for months thanks to a supply crisis that t hreatens to extend to nearly every corner of the U.S. economy this winter .
The surge in diesel prices is due to a sharp imbalance between refining capacity and global demand.
In the U.S., distillate inventories have dropped to their lowest point since 1951, according to the Energy Information Administration, but demand is roughly four times that level.
The scarcity has sent diesel prices climbing 43% higher in the last year, compared to just 15% for gasoline.
National diesel costs are expected to average around $6 per gallon this winter — or worse if the weather gets colder, said Mark Wolfe, the executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association.
“Going into winter, if and when it gets cold in the Northeast … a [cold spike] could cause prices to jump by $8, $10, even, [per] gallon,” Wolfe said.
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