The national average price of on-highway diesel reached $3.34 last week, up a cent-and-a-half from the week before, but is likely to face additional pricing pressure this week as the remnants of Hurricane Ida cut a path across the Southeast. The storm has already left more than a million people in Louisiana and Mississippi without power and likely taken about 13% of U.S. refining capacity offline, according to AAA. There were nine oil refineries in Ida’s path; at least four were believed to have shut down operations ahead of the storm.
“Until the power is restored, it’s too early to know the full impact of any damage Ida caused on the oil and gas industry, but motorists regionally can expect price fluctuations leading into Labor Day weekend,” said Jeanette McGee, AAA spokesperson. “Typically, a category 4 storm could mean three plus weeks before refineries are back to normal operations, while offshore production is more likely to resume this week.”
