The national average price per gallon of diesel gasoline headed down for the fifth straight week, according to data issued this week by the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Falling 4.6 cents, this week’s national diesel average now stands at $2.910, following a 5.4-cent decrease last week to $2.956, with the national average now under the $3 per gallon mark for the second straight week. Prior to the last two weeks, diesel had not fallen below the $3 per gallon mark since the week of September 16, when it checked in at $2.987 and kicked off a 19-week stretch of $3 and above weekly averages.
On an annual basis, this week’s average is down 5.6 cents, marking the second straight week there has not been an annual gain.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil is currently trading at $49.98 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
A CNBC report noted that the coronavirus has impacted global oil prices, with Edward Moya, analyst at brokerage OANDA quoted in the report as saying the bottom seems to be in place for oil prices.
“It is way too early to be confident that peak of the virus will happen this month, but optimism is growing that we could see Beijing resume some normalcy in travel and trade outside of the Hubei province,” he told CNBC.
But the report cautioned that investors remain wary that China’s oil demand could take a further hit if the coronavirus cannot be contained and if OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, fail to agree on further steps to support prices.