On July 13, the U.S. average diesel fuel retail price fell below the average regular gasoline retail price for the first time since the week of August 10, 2009. From August 2009 through June of this year, retail diesel fuel sold at an average premium of 34 cents per gallon (gal) over regular grade gasoline, with the difference reaching more than 90 cents/gal in January. The persistent price premium for diesel compared with gasoline from August 2009 until last week reflected a combination of factors including strong global demand for diesel, federal fuel taxes for diesel that are 6 cents/gal higher than those for gasoline, and the higher production cost of ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) that was phased in between 2006 and 2010. Gasoline and diesel have opposite seasonal demand patterns: gasoline demand tends […]