High diesel production, moderate temps = lowest prices since 2009

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Screen Shot 2015-01-04 at 6.18.22 PMMANCHESTER, NH – Diesel prices are falling, thanks to moderate temps and high refinery production, according to this recent story in the Wall Street Journal.

That means consumers here in the Northeast are reaping the benefit of “the lowest prices in four years.” And diesel costs could continue to fall, according to analysts, who say a global oversupply of oil continues to chip away at crude oil prices.

Prices for diesel fell 4.7 percent last week to end at $1.7957 a gallon on Jan. 2, the lowest closing price since Oct. 7, 2009.

Click here for a snapshot of NH prices, via US Energy Information Administration.

WSJ reports prices have dropped 29 percent over the past nine weeks, the longest streak of down weeks ever, according to data going back to 1979.

“If you get through the month of January without a prolonged cold spell — especially on the East Coast, where your heating-oil and diesel demand is — I think it’s game over” for prices, Rich Larkin, president of Hedge Solutions in Manchester, told the Wall Street Journal, which helps fuel distributors in the Northeast manage price risks, he said.

Heating-oil customers who started paying their heating bills in monthly installments last spring will likely see a big drop in their payments starting this month or next,  Larkin said.

Nationwide, the average residential heating-oil price fell 3.6 cents to $3.043 a gallon in as December closed, the lowest price since November 2010, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. NH prices reflect the same downward trend. The EIA expects households to spend an average of $1,722 on heating oil this winter, down 27 percent from last winter.

You can find the latest home heating oil prices here, at newenglandoil.com. The current low price advertised in Manchester is J.A. Bourque and sons at $2.600 per gallon.

Click here to read the full story on WSJ.

About this Author

Carol Robidoux

PublisherManchester Ink Link

Longtime NH journalist and publisher of ManchesterInkLink.com. Loves R&B, German beer, and the Queen City!