OHIO, USA —
Diesel levels are the lowest since before the war in Ukraine, according to Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
"It is normal to see prices declining for diesel as we get into the warmer months because demand for heating oil is down," De Haan said. "Russia's war in Ukraine has really faded to the rearview. The risk has declined over time. The flow of Russian oil has continued."
Diesel prices could drop another 20-50 cents over the next few weeks, he added, saying this trend can continue if there are no refinery issues or hurricanes.
"Much of the nation's economy is powered by diesel," De Haan said. "Trucks are delivering that gasoline using diesel, they're delivering everything with diesel. Think of all the semitrucks out there that are delivering food to your grocery store or deliveries to your doorstep."
These price decreases could lead to a break for wallets at the grocery store, but not right away.
"Very small changes of fuel don't have a big impact," said William Sawaya, associate professor of supply chain management at Bowling Green State University. "The other thing that doesn't have a big impact is fuel prices are very volatile anyways and they expect a certain amount of volatility."
Suppliers expect the price of gas to fluctuate, so a change in product cost wouldn't be seen, but Sawaya said if decreases in diesel costs are sustained over a long period of time, prices could drop.
"Something where you might see bigger changes might be things that are transported a long distance with low manufacturing input," he said.
Sawaya added it could be seen in items like produce, but these changes would take months to see. He said prices would probably slowly decrease, so they may not be noticeable to consumers right away.