September 2023: Diesel Fuel Price Update Sees a Dip

The final week of September 2023 features the first minor decrease in national average retail diesel fuel prices in weeks, hitting $4.59 per gallon as of September 25, 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). 

This is the first week the U.S. saw a decrease after 10 straight weeks of national average diesel prices continuing their upward trajectory, starting in mid-July.

While national average prices saw just under a 5-cent drop over last week, overall diesel fuel prices are still down 30 cents per gallon compared to the previous year. 

Check out Work Truck's latest weekly price diesel price update covering the steadily increasing diesel prices: 

Average diesel prices as of September 25, by region, are:

• East Coast: $4.53
• Midwest: $4.44
• Gulf Coast: $4.28
• Rocky Mountain: $4.80
• West Coast: $5.69

U.S. Regional Diesel Fuel Prices as of September 11, 2023

Average diesel prices as of September 11, by region, are:

• East Coast: $4.48
• Midwest: $4.43
• Gulf Coast: $4.21
• Rocky Mountain: $4.81
• West Coast: $5.54

The second week of September 2023 shows that national average retail diesel fuel prices continue to rise, hitting $4.54 per gallon as of September 11, 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). 

This is now the ninth straight week in a row that national average diesel prices continued the upward trajectory, starting in mid-July. While national average prices saw just a close to 5-cent rise over last week, overall diesel fuel prices are still down 49 cents per gallon compared to the previous year. 

And, latest updates from the EIA aren't looking good. The EIA expects global oil inventories to decline by almost a half million barrels per day in the second half of 2023, causing oil prices to rise over the remainder of the year. 

In its September Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), EIA forecasts the Brent crude oil price will average $93 per barrel in the fourth quarter of this year, up from its August forecast of less than $88 per barrel.

“We expect crude oil prices to rise as global oil inventories decrease through the end of this year,” said EIA Administrator Joe DeCarolis. “High oil prices combined with uncertain economic conditions could lessen global demand for petroleum products through 2024.”

U.S. Regional Diesel Fuel Prices as of September 4, 2023

The first week of September 2023 shows that national average retail diesel fuel prices continue to rise, hitting $4.49 per gallon as of September 4, 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). 

This is now the eighth straight week in a row national average diesel prices continued the upward trajectory, starting in mid-July. While national average prices just a close to 2-cent rise over last week, overall diesel fuel prices are still down 59 cents per gallon compared to the previous year.

As of September 4, the East Coast and Midwest both saw diesel prices decrease week-over-week, while the West Coast saw the largest price increases. 

Looking back at historical fuel prices, the last time we saw prices at this level was in late 2012/early 2013. 

In mid-August, Reuters noted, "Prices for diesel and other distillate fuel oils have surged as expectations for a soft landing and an improving economic outlook in the United States threaten to deplete already low inventories even further."

U.S. inventories amounted to 115 million barrels on August 4, up from 111 million a year ago, but otherwise the lowest for the time of year since 2000.

Average diesel prices as of September 4, by region, are:

• East Coast: $4.47
• Midwest: $4.38
• Gulf Coast: $4.17
• Rocky Mountain: $4.72
• West Coast: $5.39

What's Up with U.S. Gasoline Prices? 

National average U.S. gasoline prices also saw a small decrease moving into September 2023. 

Sitting at $3.84 on a national average, this price represents close to 4-cent drop compared to the previous week but is still 12 cents higher than last year. However, prices have yet to drop down to the lows we saw in January of this year. 

Reports from Wall Street Journal in June of 2023 noted that American's likely won't see much relief at the fuel pump until the end of 2023, when the EIA expects gasoline prices to drop to around $3.30 per gallon, but only time will tell.