Diesel projected to average $2.85 in 2015 — nearly $1 lower than 2014

The recent nosedive of diesel prices may be the new normal — or at least a temporary normal — according to the latest projection from the Department of Energy.

In its January edition of the Short Term Energy Outlook, the DOE’s Energy Information Administration forecasts the price of diesel to average $2.85 this year, which would be a 98-cent drop from 2014’s average of $3.83.

The projection is based on the expectation that crude oil prices will remain low, $58 a barrel in 2015, the DOE predicts.

The same report forecasts the price of diesel to rise to an average of $3.25 a gallon in 2016.

Gasoline, meanwhile, is projected to average $2.33 in 2015 and $2.72 in 2016.