Diesel benchmark price jumps to $6.53/gallon as futures retreat
On Tuesday, the Department of Energy/Energy Information Agency posted that the benchmark diesel price rose 24.4 cents per gallon to $6.529, marking another all‑time high. Since the run began on July 6 at $4.578 per gallon, the price has climbed $1.951 per gallon.
Ultra low sulfur diesel futures peaked at $5.262/g on September 15, then slipped to $4.8895/g by Monday’s settlement. At 9:25 a.m. Tuesday, ULSD traded at $4.7939/g, down 9.56 cents from the September high. The AAA gauge showed gasoline averaging $4.4750/g on Tuesday, while U.S. ULSD exports averaged 1.267 million barrels per day last year. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry backed a proposal to halt U.S. diesel exports to aid domestic consumers, citing last year’s average of 1.267 million barrels per day. J.P. Morgan’s commodities team said they lack a baseline view for the first time since the Iran conflict began, admitting they cannot model the endgame.
“Focus has shifted to improving oil and LNG flows through Hormuz and the possibility of diplomatic progress on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York,” Arne Lohmann Rasmussen, chief analyst at A/S Global Risk Management (per Bloomberg) said.
“For the first time since the start of the Iran conflict, we don’t have a baseline view,” J.P. Morgan commodities research team (per report published Thursday) said.
The benchmark diesel price has risen for nine of the past eleven weeks, starting from a July 6 posting of $4.578/g. Futures markets had shown a sharp reversal after the September 15 peak, with prices falling sharply in early trading. Analysts at J.P. Morgan said they lack a baseline view of the Iran‑conflict‑driven market.
What we know
The DOE/EIA benchmark diesel price rose 24.4 cents per gallon to $6.529
Since the July 6 posting of $4.578/g, the price is up $1.951/g
ULSD’s record high settlement was $5.262/gallon on Tuesday, September 15
ULSD fell 37.25 cents/g to Monday’s settlement of $4.8895/g
The AAA average daily retail price for gasoline Tuesday was $4.4750/g