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Diesel fuel prices

55K views 608 replies 111 participants last post by  Snipe656 
#1 ·
Here in NW Oregon, the last couple of weeks the price of diesel fuel seems to have gone up 15 to 20 cents, and is now more expensive than premium. What's with that? Is this happening elsewhere?
 
#2 ·
I've noticed the same here in Georgia. I filled up 2 weeks ago (wish my economy was better, but 23 is still great for stop and go city traffic), and the price had been steady at $2.79/gal. Yesterday when I drove by the station, I noticed it has skyrocketed up to $2.89 (some stations are even $2.95-99 or over $3.00!!).

As far as I know, no refineries have been hit by hurricanes to effect fuel production. It may be the shift over to winter blend?
 
#3 ·
In Maryland both diesel and gas prices have gone up about 10 cents, with diesel remaining 2 cents less than premium.
 
#7 ·
Yes I have noted a sharp increase on Diesel, which is running near or above Premium Gas at around $3.059 to $3.099, up from $2.859 to $2.979, almost a 20 cent increase in about a week or so.

One reason was due to the instability in Ecuador (President Correa had a scuffle with his military and police), an oil producer in the region.

I think another is the dollar has weakened.

Another possible cause is that winter is coming and I know in the North they start buying up furnace oil for heating and I think Fossil Fuel Power Plants have to switch from a lower grade of Fuel Oil to a Higher grade, I think it is a lower percent sulfur fuel.

I'm expecting another cold winter like last year. It is a very frigid 69 Deg F this morning...brrrrrrrrrr!:p
 
#8 ·
Just confirmed that indeed the Euro has gone up against the dollar over the past two-three weeks, so that would be the most likley explanation.

Globilization!:thumbup:
 

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#11 ·
I'll actually have to break out the long pants and shirts with sleeves now.:rofl:

Actually, last winter we had sub freezing temperatures and some frost on the "d".

All of the fish died in these shallow canals and holding ponds, and the lizards and iguanas froze and were falling out of the palm trees.
 
#12 ·
Here in Indy, the price for diesel ...

This morning, I paid $3.06 per gallon of diesel and that was $.01 more per gallon than premium gas. Overall, the price is now about $.10 more per gallon of diesel than it was a couple of weeks ago.
 
#14 ·
Ten cent increase in the past week here. You don't think this is just ramping up for the winter? I know it fluctuates around the same time every year but never actually tried charting it out. I fill up with diesel 2-3 times a week so tend to watch the prices at stations. I currently could pay between 2.779-3.359. The cheaper of the range is an HEB which I'd never use in my vehicles. The most expensive is a particular Shell station that is always a lot(0.25 to 0.35 usually) more than any others I pass.
 
#15 ·
snipe,

If you are near my neck of the wood, try the brand new Murphy Express at the corner of I610 N & Ella. It is inside Lowes' Parking lot right behind Shell Station. I like it when a new station pop up right next to an old station and they not only have the newest pump but also the lowest rates of $2.65/gallon.
 
#18 ·
Murphy Oil is part of the S&P 500 component & I don't consider it as fly-by-night operation. Murphy Oil is just as capable as any others of providing quality diesel with minimum Cetane rating of 40 or better.

It is my personal opinion & I didn't mean to be disrespectful. :thumbup:
 
#21 ·
Murphy Oil is part of the S&P 500 component & I don't consider it as fly-by-night operation. Murphy Oil is just as capable as any others of providing quality diesel with minimum Cetane rating of 40 or better.

It is my personal opinion & I didn't mean to be disrespectful. :thumbup:
You will get a much higher cetane with chevron than murphy, in our region. They also invest more in their additives that are added to the fuel. I specifically was strayed away from Murphy diesel a number of years ago. I used to almost always run it in my truck since it comes at a good savings and is sold at the nearby walmart. Then I learned how unclean of a burn it tends to produce and how bad of a thing that can be after long term use since no additive after the fact can address the build up it causes. If you only plan on keeping a car for 100k miles or so then probably does not matter. I plan to keep my truck for a few hundred thousand miles.

If you really want to save money at the pump then a truck stop exists between downtown and 59N. It is on the east side and a couple miles from the freeway. It always has very cheap diesel but I'd not even run it in our generator.
 
#19 ·
Here in Cincinnati, diesel is hovering around $3.00 to $3.05 while Premium is around $2.85 to $2.95. The diesels prices seem to be more stable, while gas prices fluctuate.
 
#20 ·
Diesel is supplied by local/regional distributors around here. Knowing who distributes the diesel is more important than the brand of gas that is sold. The regional chain of Highs convenience stores (Shell,BP,Citgo) give me better fuel economy than Jiffy Mart stores (Shell, Tevco, BP).
 
#22 ·
A lot of the refineries switch from diesel to winter heating oil at this time of year also. This means less diesel is available - more has to come from somewhere else and it drives the price up.
 
#26 ·
And I am basing my comments and opinions based upon the conversations I had with test engineers from one of the top three oil companies and specifically about fuel from Murphy and specifically about direct injection diesel engines. I will trust their findings any day over any literature I see online. It is not about possibly getting contaminated fuel, that can happen anywhere, it is about the quality of it v. other options from the various manufacturers.
 
#27 · (Edited)
I've noticed the same here in Georgia. I filled up 2 weeks ago (wish my economy was better, but 23 is still great for stop and go city traffic), and the price had been steady at $2.79/gal. Yesterday when I drove by the station, I noticed it has skyrocketed up to $2.89 (some stations are even $2.95-99 or over $3.00!!).

As far as I know, no refineries have been hit by hurricanes to effect fuel production. It may be the shift over to winter blend?
In just 2 weeks, Diesel prices went up from $3.07 to $3.25 here :(
Yes I have noted a sharp increase on Diesel, which is running near or above Premium Gas at around $3.059 to $3.099, up from $2.859 to $2.979, almost a 20 cent increase in about a week or so.

One reason was due to the instability in Ecuador (President Correa had a scuffle with his military and police), an oil producer in the region.

I think another is the dollar has weakened.

Another possible cause is that winter is coming and I know in the North they start buying up furnace oil for heating and I think Fossil Fuel Power Plants have to switch from a lower grade of Fuel Oil to a Higher grade, I think it is a lower percent sulfur fuel.

I'm expecting another cold winter like last year. It is a very frigid 69 Deg F this morning...brrrrrrrrrr!:p
I am seeing a similar jump in diesel price in my neck of the woods. If it was purely exchange rate related, there would be a similar rise in the price for gasoline. Diesel has led premium unleaded (I can buy Chevron premium unleaded for around $3.25/gallon; Chevron diesel is more like $3.45/gallon, with gas rising a little and diesel rising a lot), so I doubt the rise is due solely to exchange rate fluctuations. I suspect the majority of the increase in diesel price is due to building stocks of heating oil (even though heating oil is generally an item for people living in the Northeast). If not heating oil, then what is it? Market manipulation? :dunno:
 
#29 ·
I filled the tank earlier today - total cost was just under $50.00.

My previous car often took more than $50.00 - sometimes the pump wouldn't dispense more than that amount so I'm glad the 335d comes in at less than $50.00. If the price of diesel goes higher then I'll be revisiting that situation. :confused:
 
#31 ·
New member chiming in: Floyd in Seattle area. Diesel prices here jumped about the same 15-20 cents 2-3 weeks ago; on a trip across to Pullman last weekend most prices were $3.49/gal or so.

Thought I'd mention a peculiar situation regarding diesel fuel prices. I usually fuel up in Renton or Issaquah. Shell stations, believe it or not, usually have the lowest diesel prices (the CENEX/Grange Supply has the cheapest, but there's only one locally that I'm near.) However, *WHICH* Shell (or other station) matters a great deal.

As in most metro areas, gasoline/diesel prices are set on a per neighborhood/station basis. For gasoline, the prices are driven by the price and re-fill rate of the tank that holds regular, which means that they vary a lot, tracking worldwide oil prices. The prices of mid-grade and premium seem to always be set relative to the price of regular. HOWEVER, stations appear to reset the price of diesel only whenever they re-fill that tank! I've noticed that most stations seem to be stable in diesel prices for 2-3 weeks, then they change, usually by quite a bit.
 
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