Oil Prices Move Higher As Investors Feel More Confident

Uncertainty has been the name of the game for 2020, and that’s pushed oil prices lower. But the future has become a little more certain over the past couple of weeks with the Presidential election done, and the hope of a COVID-19 vaccination on the horizon. Now, many investors are feeling better about what tomorrow may bring. That has pushed oil prices to the highest levels we’ve seen since the pandemic started in Mach.

Patrick DeHaan with GasBuddy noted West Texas Crude was trading early Monday around $45.35. He confidence is not only building in the U.S., but internationally as well.

“Several vaccines are getting close, the U.S. is probably the most crucial from an oil demand perspective simply because we are the largest oil consumer on the planet, and so there’s a lot tied in to that. And so what happens in the U.S. is going to reverberate across the globe when it comes to oil and gasoline price and consumption.”

But despite the encouraging news, DeHaan noted fuel consumption over the Thanksgiving holiday was down 25%-30% year-over-year. As far as diesel price are concerned, the national average for a gallon increased three cents this week to $2.42, Washington’s price increased one cent to $2.82 a gallon, Oregon’s diesel price also increased a penny to $2.72, while Idaho’s average diesel price held steady at $2.65 a gallon.

Here are some of the lowest diesel prices we could find across the Northwest: