An oil-market commentary issued on October 21 separated two U.S. fuels. It said the Energy Information Administration's latest weekly survey put average on-highway diesel up 9.7 cents, to $6.276 a gallon, and $2.656 above a year ago. Regular gasoline moved the other way, down 4.7 cents to $4.284.
The note said the International Energy Agency's October report found global diesel off September peaks above $200 a barrel, but still nearly double crude and pre-crisis levels. It linked tighter diesel and gasoil supply to Middle East export disruptions and lower supply from Russia and some Asian countries, a 1.7 million barrel-a-day reduction in the third quarter from a year earlier. U.S. distillate inventories fell 2.5 million barrels in the week ended October 9 and were 12% below the five-year average. Those readings do not make this week's U.S. diesel price a record, and they do not announce a grocery increase.
Could the diesel increase raise the gasoline price a U.S. driver pays? No. In this survey the national gasoline average fell 4.7 cents while diesel rose to $6.276. Higher diesel can raise trucking and farm costs, but no freight or grocery increase was announced.