Diesel verses Regular

[roadman65]

Right now gasoline is cheaper than diesel here in Florida, but last Summer diesel was cheaper than gasoline in Washington State when I drove there in July.

Does it vary between the two like fuel prices due at one end of the nation than the other? It seems even in 2000, in Utah I remember diesel being cheaper than Regular then, so is this a thing of the Western US?

[GaryV]

In general the price of Diesel goes down in the spring/summer, and back up in the fall/winter.  That's because it's cracked from the same part of petroleum as home heating oil, which of course has much higher demand for the cold months.

[SectorZ]

Each is running neck and neck in Massachusetts (around me at least), and that is not common to see.

[SP Cook]

A major cause of the variation between gasoline and Diesel prices is that different states tax the two fuels differently.  Ranges from states that tax Diesel less, to those that treat them the same, to those that tax it more, to those that tax it WAY more.

[hbelkins]

In this area of the country, diesel traditionally is the same price or a bit more expensive than regular. The price of diesel has gone up quite a bit here lately, but that is not a normal wintertime increase in this region. The price usually stays pretty consistent with gas prices as they rise and fall.

(I thought gas prices were supposed to go down when they changed over from summer to winter blend. At least that's what we were told. i guess we were told wrong.)

However, on my trip out west recently, I was surprised to find diesel priced less than regular, which was even more surprising in some of the places where regular gas is lower than 87 octane.

Home heating oil is not a major heat source in my region.

[Bruce]

Among Washington households as of 2019, heating is mostly electric (56%), followed by natural gas (34%). So the theory that our lower diesel prices correlate to less demand from heating seems to check out.

[abefroman329]

(I thought gas prices were supposed to go down when they changed over from summer to winter blend. At least that's what we were told. i guess we were told wrong.)

Normally, that plus the fact that demand for gas is lower after Labor Day, when people don't generally take road trips, brings down gas prices, but these are not normal times.

A major cause of the variation between gasoline and Diesel prices is that different states tax the two fuels differently.  Ranges from states that tax Diesel less, to those that treat them the same, to those that tax it more, to those that tax it WAY more.

That's what I figured the explanation was.  Do they also tax fuels that are mostly ethanol differently?