Diesel Climbs 5¢ to $2.84
The average pump price of diesel fuel continued to rise Monday, climbing another nickel following last week’s 11.4-cent jump to $2.84 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported.
The gain was the eighth in 10 weeks, over which time trucking’s main fuel has risen 42.7 cents, according to DOE figures.
Meanwhile, gasoline jumped 9.5 cents to $2.802 a gallon, DOE said, in a 10th straight increase.
The diesel price is now 18.6 cents higher than it was in the same week last year, while gas is 11.9 cents higher than a year ago.
Crude oil prices fell Monday by the most in three months, dropping $2.77 to close at $61.51 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg reported.
The prices fell on speculation that this week’s DOE inventories report will show stronger supplies, Bloomberg said.
Diesel is now at its highest level since mid-September, when it was $2.857 and prices were receding from last summer’s near-record highs, according to DOE figures.
Diesel rose in all five national regions, led by a 6.7-cent jump in the Rocky Mountain region to $2.951.
Each week, DOE surveys 350 diesel filling stations to compile a national snapshot average price.
