Diesel Jumps a Dime to $3.987 a Gallon; Gasoline Gains for First Time in a Month
Diesel jumped a dime to its highest level in almost six months — a national average price of $3.987 a gallon, the Department of Energy said Monday.
Gasoline, meanwhile, rose for the first time in four weeks, gaining 1.2 cents to $3.436 a gallon, DOE said.
The diesel hike — its biggest since a 10.2-cent leap on April 11 — left trucking’s main fuel at its highest level since May 23.
Diesel, which took its first dip in a month last week with a half-cent decline, is now 80.3 cents over the same week last year, while gas is 54.4 cents over a year ago.
The diesel average now tops $4 a gallon in two of five DOE regions, the West Coast and Rocky Mountains, while it also tops that level in the East Coast’s New England and Mid-Atlantic sub-regions.
California, which DOE breaks out separately but is included in the West Coast figures, posted the highest price, at $4.27 per gallon.
Oil prices, the main driver of end fuel prices, have jumped in the past three weeks, from the mid-$80s per barrel in mid-October to the high-$90s this month.
Crude futures finished the trading week Friday at $98.99 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest closing price since July, Bloomberg reported.
Oil fell 85 cents Monday to finish at $98.14 per-barrel on the Nymex, Bloomberg said.
Each week, DOE surveys about 350 diesel filling stations to compile a national snapshot average price.
