While Trump Has His Eye on Gasoline, Diesel Price Is Sneaking Up

(Bloomberg) -- As national average gasoline pump prices climb to near $3 a gallon for the first time since late 2014, the U.S. president made it known that he won’t stand for OPEC’s cartel tricks. Bad news, Mr. President: Diesel prices are already there.

A combination of a never-ending winter in the U.S. and an impending demand increase for ultra-low sulfur diesel from a worldwide sulfur-reducing law has pushed retail diesel prices to the highest level since January 2015. Most economists warn that the fuel that powers trucks and ships that deliver goods to retailers around the globe is only going higher as the International Maritime Organization’s law goes live in January 2020.

“If the 0.5 percent limit is not postponed and goes into effect 21 months from now, the price of shipping fuel could increase by as much as 30 percent,” energy economist Phil Verleger wrote in Bloomberg View.

The bad news for Trump? This law isn’t one the U.S. can pull out of, unlike the Paris Climate Agreement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Laura Blewitt in Houston at lblewitt@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Marino at dmarino4@bloomberg.net, Mike Jeffers, Catherine Traywick

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