California Dump Truck Owners Association (CDTOA) - California Construction Trucking Association (CCTA)

Crude prices fall below $82 after hitting 15-month high

Oil prices fell for a second day on January 10 as a global cold spell eased its grip and pulled crude back from a 15-month high. Crude prices have jumped 20% in the past month as the coldest weather in 30-years took hold. The weather has boosted demand for heating oil in the U.S. Northeast, and natural gas almost everywhere.

The government also said on January 10 that it expects U.S. retail gasoline prices to average $2.84 per gallon this year, an increase of 49-cents from 2009. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) said prices are likely to pass $3 per gallon during the spring or summer, largely because of rising crude prices.
Those prices are rising even though the EIA said gasoline consumption was flat in 2009 compared with 2008 when the economy was in a tailspin. In fact, according to the BOE diesel sales in California is off 20% from its peak in 2007.

Prices rose steadily into January to a national average of $2.75 a gallon, according to auto club AAA. That’s about 96-cents more per gallon more than a year ago when drivers were still able to cash in on collapsing oil prices.

The average price in the U.S. for regular gasoline was $3.05., up 9-cents from the previous week. The national average is 30-cents lower than the price of regular in California.

The average price for diesel in the U.S. was $2.88 a gallon. In California the average price was $3.12 a gallon, up 8-cents from the previous week and up 12-cents from a month ago, and up 60-cents from a year ago. The national average is 24-cents lower than the price of diesel in California.