Diesel Jumps 7.3¢ to $2.09 a Gallon
Diesel fuel rose 7.3 cents to a national average $2.09 per gallon, sharply reversing its downward trend since last summer, the Department of Energy said Monday.
The increase was the biggest since an 8.2-cent jump last July 7, according to DOE records. A week after that, diesel hit its all-time peak of $4.764 a gallon.
The gain left trucking’s main fuel $1.899 below the same week last year and $2.674 below the July record. Monday’s upturn was just the third increase in the past 36 weeks.
Gasoline, meanwhile, rose 5.2 cents to $1.962 a gallon, marking the ninth increase in the past 12 weeks, according to DOE records.
The increase left gas $1.297 below the same week last year and $2.152 below the record $4.114 set last July 7.
Gas has risen almost 35 cents since bottoming out near a five-year low of $1.613 at the end of last year.
Crude oil rose almost $2 Monday to close the trading day near $54 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and has risen about $14 since the beginning of March, Bloomberg reported.
Commodities, including oil, rose with the U.S. stock market, which gained Monday on speculation that the Obama administration’s plan to help banks get rid of bad assets would lead to economic growth, Bloomberg said.
Each week, DOE surveys about 350 diesel filling stations to compile a national snapshot average price.
