Bulk diesel prices: continue to weaken

UK contract bulk diesel and gas oil prices continued to weaken last week, with prices tracking recent falls on the Rotterdam product markets. Contract diesel fell 1.89 pence per litre (ppl) to 81.16ppl, which represents a fall of 6.4 per cent compared to a year ago. Gas oil fell by 2.08ppl to 37.66ppl, representing a year-on-year decrease of 16.1 per cent.

Last week Brent Crude oil remained relatively stable at around $45 per barrel. Opec’s decision to remove a further 2.2 million b/d from the global oil market from 1 January helped support prices. 4.2 million barrels a day (b/d) of production cuts have now been agreed by Opec during 2008. However, downward pressure remains strong, stemming from continued concerns over weakening world oil demand and a continued build-up in US oil inventories.