U.S. Diesel Prices Soar to Decade-High Ahead of Harvest Season
U.S. farmers are facing high diesel prices ahead of the harvest season, which could squeeze their margins across the Corn Belt.
The national average retail diesel price has surged to $5.44 per gallon on Aug. 15, marking the highest mid-August level in a decade, according to Farmdoc's analysis.
Jed Bower, an Ohio corn and soybean farmer and president of the National Corn Growers Association, estimates that his annual diesel bill will rise by $20,000 to $25,000 compared with January prices, putting further pressure on low-margin operations.
The high diesel price is attributed to tight U.S. distillate inventories and global supply disruptions caused by conflicts in Russia and the Middle East, which have tightened refining economics, exports, and demand.