# Diesel’s price decline Tuesday was historic; crude’s fall sets another record - FreightWaves

> The CME ULSD contract settled down 16.09 cents to 72.69 cents per gallon on April 21, a drop of 18.12% and the largest one-day decline since January 1991. The move followed WTI May futures turning negative the previous day.

- Date: 2020-04-21 · published 2020-04-21T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: macro · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/53805-diesel-s-price-decline-tuesday-was-historic-crude-s-fall-sets-another-record
- Commodities: [ULSD / Diesel](https://feedsoft.ai/c/DIESEL.md), [Crude Oil (WTI)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/WTI.md)

## Why it matters

Collapsing diesel futures lower the cost base for freight and farm operations, but the drop reflects severe demand destruction rather than a supply gain.

## Read by commodity

- WTI: bearish ▼
- DIESEL: bearish ▼

## Linked price moves

| Commodity | Date | Window | Change % | z-score | Why linked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DIESEL | 2020-04-24 | 5 | -28.6% | -7.0 | CME ULSD futures fell 18% on April 21, the largest one-day drop since 1991, which accounts for a large share of the 5-day decline. |
| DIESEL | 2020-05-04 | 5 | +30.1% | 4.7 | The record one-day ULSD drop to 72.69 cents on April 21 left futures deeply depressed, so a mean-reversion bounce in the following weeks looks outsized in percentage terms. |

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DIESEL | 2020-04-22 | [Oil’s collapse and its effect on diesel prices - FreightWaves](https://feedsoft.ai/events/53806-oil-s-collapse-and-its-effect-on-diesel-prices-freightwaves.md) | -15.4% | +28.7% |
| DIESEL | 2022-03-28 | [Up and down: DOE/EIA price way up, diesel futures plummet - FreightWaves](https://feedsoft.ai/events/9138-up-and-down-doe-eia-price-way-up-diesel-futures-plummet-freightwaves.md) | -18.2% | +0.1% |
| DIESEL | 2023-03-20 | [Benchmark diesel price down 7 weeks in a row - FreightWaves](https://feedsoft.ai/events/37031-benchmark-diesel-price-down-7-weeks-in-a-row-freightwaves.md) | +0.8% | -2.0% |
| DIESEL | 2024-10-28 | [Benchmark diesel price rises against backdrop of falling futures - FreightWaves](https://feedsoft.ai/events/28037-benchmark-diesel-price-rises-against-backdrop-of-falling-futures-freightwaves.md) | +0.1% | +1.6% |
| DIESEL | 2024-10-15 | [Benchmark diesel price rises, but futures prices now headed sharply lower - FreightWaves](https://feedsoft.ai/events/28048-benchmark-diesel-price-rises-but-futures-prices-now-headed-sharply-lower.md) | -5.4% | -3.8% |
| WTI | 2020-04-22 | [Oil’s collapse and its effect on diesel prices - FreightWaves](https://feedsoft.ai/events/53806-oil-s-collapse-and-its-effect-on-diesel-prices-freightwaves.md) | +33.7% | +249.4% |
| WTI | 2023-03-20 | [Benchmark diesel price down 7 weeks in a row - FreightWaves](https://feedsoft.ai/events/37031-benchmark-diesel-price-down-7-weeks-in-a-row-freightwaves.md) | +3.9% | +21.4% |
| WTI | 2024-10-28 | [Benchmark diesel price rises against backdrop of falling futures - FreightWaves](https://feedsoft.ai/events/28037-benchmark-diesel-price-rises-against-backdrop-of-falling-futures-freightwaves.md) | -3.1% | -0.6% |

## Sources

- freightwaves.com: https://www.freightwaves.com/news/diesels-price-decline-tuesday-was-historic-crudes-fall-sets-another-record

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.