What a difference only three months can make in oil and diesel prices worldwide, as OPEC oil prices have essentially fallen off a cliff since late summer.
OPEC crude oil prices were $74.48 on Aug. 30 for the “OPEC Basket,” the last time STN posted market prices, following a long and sustained rise in prices earlier this year.
Related: Diesel Prices are Currently Rising But Will Likely Fall After Christmas
In contrast, the OPEC Basket on Monday posted at $59.29, which means that OPEC oil prices fell by slightly more than 20 percent, or $15.19, in only a quarter of the year.
Going back to the end of August 2017, the OPEC Basket was at $49.
In a related item, the U.S. is the top global producer of crude oil for the first time since 1973, according to preliminary estimates released on Sept. 12 by the U.S. Energy Department. This is good news for future diesel fuel prices nationwide.
“The United States likely surpassed Russia and Saudi Arabia to become the world’s largest crude oil producer earlier this year, based on preliminary estimates in EIA’s Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO),” according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). “In February, U.S. crude oil production exceeded that of Saudi Arabia for the first time in more than two decades. In June and August, the United States surpassed Russia in crude oil production for the first time since February 1999.”
