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Diesel prices NOT dropping!

41K views 283 replies 81 participants last post by  mkohan 
#1 ·
Gas has dropped below $3 here over the last few months but diesel is virtually unchanged still close to $4. This could spell disaster for the diesel car market. I don't ever remember a price disparity of this scale ever happening before, at least in my memory. Pretty weird or what?!
 
#2 ·
It's heating season! Lots of oil is used for heating in rural areas where there aren't natural gas lines. Refining process isn't too drastically different between kerosene/diesel/heating oil.

Truck activity is busier than ever as well.

Diesel prices tend to fluctuate a lot less than gas though. Gas prices took a 30 cent leap around Thanksgiving here.
 
#3 ·
Yeah, diesel being more than gas is a permanent situation it seems. This problem seems to be worsening slowly but surely as time goes on. Gone are the days where buying the diesel could actually save you money. If you're lucky the extra mileage may cover the additional cost of diesel fuel, but that's it. The price doesn't move up and down as much as gas. But I can't help but feel like when gas makes a big increase, diesel makes a small increase. When gas prices make a big decrease, diesel pretty much stays the same.
 
#5 ·
Right - diesel and heating oil are close to the same thing (as is kerosene) so when there is high demand for heating oil (it was an abnormally cold November across many areas) diesel is likely to climb. Add to that, overall energy prices (gasoline and natural gas) are also up as of late. Check out TheEnergyDesk. RBOB is wholesale gasoline. There is a delay as to when these prices *typically* rise/fall at the pump, but you should be seeing gasoline on it's way up too. It just started climbing around here this week.
 
#6 ·
Actually, when I bought my Cruze diesel, gas price for regular was around 3.20 for regular and diesel was 3.75-3.79

Regular 85 octane is now 2.99 here at the cheapest stations. Diesel is 3.64. Not the same amount of price decrease but enough for me.

Still $100 to fill up my ram 2500 hemi and about $50 to fill the Cruze diesel and get more miles out of a tank on the Cruze. So I don't care about that small amount of change I could save at the pump with the gas Cruze.

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#7 ·
Part of the problem is that the removal of sulfur for transition to ultra lower sulfur diesel fuel has forever increased the cost of producing diesel fuel relative to gas. During this process, the energy content of the fuel is also decreased slightly, reducing mileage and power by 1% according to an article I read.
 
#8 ·
I still prefer low sulfur fuels in my engines. Far lower acidity in the crankcase and exhaust system.

I don't know how the energy content was so dramatically affected by sulfur removal, SO2 is a combustion inhibitor, and sulfur has a much lower BTU value than hydrocarbon, so getting sulfur out of the fuel should improve combustion.
 
#9 ·
Yesterday, the Sunoco station where I fill up had 87 E10 for $2.37/gal. Diesel was "down" to $3.89/gal. I'd be afraid to buy diesel at this station due to the low volume they pump, let alone the price. They have 8 pumps for gas and 1 for diesel.
 
#10 ·
the extra cost of complying with the mandate for 15ppm diesel fuel is less than 5 cents per gallon; there is an additional 6 cents per gallon federal tax on diesel relative to gasoline. In Florida, diesel has a 5 cent per gallon greater tax than gasoline. As pointed out diesel is cheaper to produce than gasoline. The reason for the outrageous diesel prices has to do with the fact that the oil industry exports 1 million barrels of diesel fuel daily to Europe because of the higher prices and greater demand there (over 50% of vehicles in Europe are diesel powered) Consequently, without the price pressure of extra diesel available to lower prices the refiners are gouging the public. Perhaps if enough persons contacted there Congressman about this situation changes may occur
 
#11 ·
Then there's always this photo I took as I refueled yesterday. Oh yeah, fuel perks might have played a role lol
Machine Fuel
 
#12 ·
What is your source that the cost increase is less than 5 cents per gallon? I suppose a better question would be to ask what is the ACTUAL difference in cost to me, when it's all said and done, of using ULSD? I agree with you though that the export/supply/demand/gouging the public thing seems to be the main reason diesel is outrageous.

I understand that during the process of removal of sulfur to ULSD levels, the fuel loses ~1% of its energy accurding to my understanding of this process thus causing me to need 1% more of it. If I need 1.01 gallons of ULSD for every 1 gallon I used to need, at $4.09 per gallon that's over 4 cents in extra fuel that I now have to buy just to do the same amount of work I used to do with a gallon. So I'm spending another 4 cents a gallon right there.
 
#16 ·
Relax people. We all knew diesel would cost more at the pump than gasoline. If the 4 cents per gallon that this 1% decrease of energy in the fuel has you scraping for change, you probably shouldn't have bought a brand new car in the first place. It really doesn't matter in the big picture.

The Cruze diesel has an amazing range, great mpg, and like all diesels, is expected to be more reliable into higher mileages than the gas counterparts.

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#17 ·
If the 4 cents per gallon that this 1% decrease of energy in the fuel has you scraping for change, you probably shouldn't have bought a brand new car in the first place. It really doesn't matter in the big picture.
I was just trying to illustrate that there is an additional way that the transition to USLD has increased cost which makes the change more expensive than it seems.
 
#21 ·
Gas has dropped below $3 here over the last few months but diesel is virtually unchanged still close to $4.
This year is the first time I have seen such a huge spread in price, today's average here is $3.75-3.85 for diesel and $2.89-2.99 for regular gas.

Really makes the cruze diesel not worth the extra cost(MPG & cost per mile wise), seems the CNG cruze at the same price would save even more money. CNG averages for $1.59-$1.99 on the pump here.
 
#23 ·
Diesel has been $3.79 around here for the last three months. Meanwhile, 87 E10 has been all over the board from $2.61 to $3.49. The Sunoco station around the corner from me has been "going to add" diesel since early summer, but they keep putting it off. There's a BP station across the street from them and you almost never see a car/truck at the diesel pump. Of course, they are always more expensive than the Sunoco station, so you rarely see anyone at the gas pumps either.
 
#24 ·
The BP I go to (Waterway Pepper Pike)has 10¢ every Wednesday for veterans this month. Usually it's 3¢ off for their non BP and my BP card still has about 25¢ off on it. I alternate between BP and Shell but it's the same 2 stations.

They have diesel there and I'll try and snap a pic in the morning when I drive by.
 
#25 ·
Here in ontario canada, diesel is usally a bit cheaper than gas and on occasion it creeps above gas, like right now, gas is $1.10/liter and diesel just went up from $1.12/liter to $1.16/liter..I am still jealous of you yanks for your price on fuel lol
 
#31 ·
Diesel has dropped to 3.64 here. keeping the same gap from reg 87 which is 2.99/gal. It's usually 70 cents/gallon difference from regular here.

The refineries aren't stupid, they charge by energy potential now instead of production cost. Since diesel continues to provide more energy per gallon they will charge accordingly.
 
#35 ·
The power and reliability is definitely a huge plus. At least where I live the price of diesel stays extremely stable.

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I have noticed that Canadian prices don't usually swing nearly fast or as much as US prices.
 
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#37 ·
No need to get upset. This is perfectly normal. Diesel generally goes up this time of year and gas generally goes down, although more than normal this year. Where I'm at diesel has come down to $3.35 in several locations with 87 E10 at $2.75 at Costco and $2.85-$2.95 everywhere else.
 
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