Fuel Pricing
Many of our clients use a lot of diesel fuel every month doing other things in addition to farming. We had recommended locking-in spring diesel prices last winter. One client priced 20,000 gallons, but used it all by the 20th of March and asked our opinion of what he should do about pricing more diesel. The decision was made to buy diesel hand-to-mouth until a better pricing opportunity presented itself.
Since ULSD has not been around long enough to establish a reliable seasonal trend and heating oil naturally increases in price into the early winter. We prefer the seasonal analysis using crude oil for guidance on the price outlook for ULSD. Here is the seasonal trend chart of crude oil. The red line and scale are 2024 price action. You can see crude peaks in late June or early July.
