Diesel prices are expected to hold steady for the rest of this year, but the average price per gallon is projected to jump by a nickel in 2010, according to the Department of Energy. For the rest of 2009, expect to see $2.46 per gallon at the pump, but next year fuel is forecast to average $2.84, up from its previous estimate of $2.79, but well below its $3.80-a-gallon average price from last year. The DOE says gasoline will average $2.34 this year. The forecast for crude oil was lowered for 2009 to just below $60 a barrel, but is unchanged for 2010, when it is expected to be $72.42 a barrel.

The Department of Energy held its diesel price forecast for 2009 steady at $2.46 a gallon, but bumped its projection for next year by a nickel from a previous forecast.

Trucking’s main fuel will average $2.84 in 2010, DOE said in its monthly short-term energy outlook released Tuesday – up slightly from the $2.79 it forecast last month.

In its latest weekly pump-price survey released Monday, DOE said the national average price of diesel was $2.625, the highest price since late November.

Diesel averaged $3.80 last year, peaking on July 14, 2008, at a record $4.764 a gallon.

Gasoline will average $2.34 this year, down slightly from the $2.36 predicted last month, DOE said. Monday’s weekly survey showed a 9-cent increase to $2.647.

This year’s prices are well below last year’s $3.26 average, a record. The single-week record high for gas was $4.114 a gallon, set on July 7, 2008.

DOE also lowered its forecast for crude oil, saying it will average $59.94 a barrel, down slightly from the $60.35 it projected last month. The 2010 forecast was unchanged at $72.42.

Oil averaged $99.57 per barrel last year and set a New York Mercantile Exchange closing-price record of $145.29 last July.

[source - ttnews.com]