For most of November, oil prices struggled to recover following their significant drop in October. However, at the end of November, prices spiked upward in response to OPEC’s agreement to reduce oil production. The following graph shows the daily price movements over the past two months:
Oil prices traded in a very narrow range during most of October following a rapid increase during the last half of September. The following graph shows the daily price movements over the past two months:
Crude oil prices were very volatile during September and the month ended just over $48/barrel. This is approximately 12% higher than where the month started. The following graph shows the daily price movements over the trailing three months:
Crude oil prices experienced a steep decline in July. The downward trend was certainly significant, particularly when viewed in the context of the daily price changes over the past three months shown in the following graph:
June was a particularly volatile month for crude oil prices. However, the closing price for the month settled slightly below where the month started. The following graph displays the daily volatility:
During May, crude oil prices increased again for the third straight month and briefly spiked above the $50/barrel mark. May’s closing price of just over $49 is approximately 33% higher than where it ended 2015. Even more notable is that May’s closing price was almost double compared to mid-February’s $26 which was the lowest point of the year.
During April, crude oil prices continued increasing for the second month in a row and closed the month at approximately $46/barrel. April was an active month with a number of factors that influenced pricing. Most notable was the meeting in Doha, Qatar during mid-April where many oil producing nations gathered in an attempt to rein in supply production. No agreement
Fleet Managers can be certain of one thing; fuel price volatility. Fuel prices have been on a roller coaster that has recently been climbing after several months of significant declines. Volatility will continue into the foreseeable future which makes a Fleet Manager’s job even more difficult. Managing fuel costs to the annual budget set months ago is nearly impossible.
The past few months showed how fast diesel fuel prices can change. During most of 2014, fuel prices were not very volatile although they declined slowly. Then, at the end of November 2014, a rapid decline began which continued through February 2015 that shaved about 40% off of average wholesale prices and 25% from retail prices.
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