Diesel Price Edges Up in First Gain Since November; Gasoline Jumps 12.3¢
Diesel’s national average retail price rose 0.4 cent to $2.835 a gallon, the first increase since November, while gasoline jumped 12.3 cents to $2.191, the Department of Energy reported.
Despite the uptick, diesel is $1.142 below a year ago, DOE said Feb. 9 after its weekly survey of fueling stations.
Last week’s diesel price was the lowest in almost five years, and trucking’s main fuel has fallen more than $1 since June. This week’s increase was just the second since then.
The gasoline surge — the biggest gain in a year and a half— left the motor fuel at a five-week high but $1.12 below the corresponding week last year.
Oil, which had been trading below $50 this year until last week, rose $1.17 on Feb. 9 to finish New York Mercantile Exchange trading at $52.86 a barrel — the highest Nymex closing price this year.
The crude gain was due in part to OPEC cutting its forecast for U.S. oil production this year as low prices curtail drilling, Bloomberg News reported.
Each week, DOE surveys about 400 diesel filling stations and 800 gasoline stations to compile national average prices.
